High School Endurance
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: AU. High school includes some of the toughest years of a person's life. But with friends, and love, you somehow manage to make it through. -Rated for Sexual Content- Note: Contains OCs
1. Transfer Student

**LoveShinobi A/N****: Another High School fiction! Gasp! The last one I wrote people seemed to enjoy and so, me and Angelv, out of our boredom wanted to go for it. Now, we did add our own characters and the relatives are a bit different. So I would just like to say, Natsumi is **_**forever **_**and **_**always **_**Gaara and Sakura's baby girl. As with Toshiro. And same to Akito and Sasuke, but we had them all the same age in this story so it needed to be mixed around. **

**But I promise you will all enjoy the drama and angst in this story. AND! It's super exciting because Sasori and Itachi are in it! And we do love them, oh so much. And they are **_**bad**_** boys in this one. But then again, they always are. **

**Angelv A/N: ****When I became an author for FanFiction, I swore I wasn't ever going to write a high school fiction. I don't usually like them, but then this idea popped into my head, and so, I went back on my word. But I promise it's good, so let me know what you think.**

**So please enjoy! And don't forget to review!**

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter One_

-Transfer Student-

"Here you go Mr. Uchiha, this is your schedule. Class starts in five minutes, so you should get a move on." The Vice Principal, Shizune, said, handing him a sheet of paper.

Impassive forest green eyes took in what was to be his schedule for the rest of his junior year. "Hn." Was his reply, as he turned and left the front office, walking down the linoleum tiled halls of his new school, Gakugei High. He had already bought plenty of school uniforms, which consisted of black pants, with a matching jacket that had a high collar. One his left arm he wore a band that signified his grade in green lettering. Girls' uniforms had black skirts that went down mid-thigh, knee-high black socks, sleeveless button-up shirts that were white, with a black tie that had their class on it.

He glanced down at his schedule once more and quickly found his first class. Science with Hatake Kakashi. Pushing up his large, thick-rimmed rectangular glasses, he opened the door, revealing a classroom full of students. Standing in the back of the class was a group of guys talking. There was a loud blonde with blue eyes, who appeared to be telling a story to an equally loud brunette, a disinterested looking redhead, and his cousin, Uchiha Sasuke, who looked very similar to himself, only with charcoal black eyes. There was a boy with hair tied to look like a pineapple looking out the window and at the clouds, and closer to the front was a group of girls gossiping. There were two girls with short pink hair, who looked so similar they could be twins, only one had emerald eyes and the other had eyes of a light jade. The girl with the lighter eyes was laughing with another who had bleach blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, while the other just sat there reading what appeared to be their textbook. There were also two girls who had long black-blue hair, but one had lavender eyes, and the other had eyes of pale blue. Both weren't really talking, just listening to what was being said and speaking up when they felt it was necessary.

After taking in the scene, the boy walked up to the teacher's desk. Their teacher had spiky, silver hair, and had a bored expression on his face as he was reading through a bright orange book. Sensing someone near his desk, Kakashi looked up from his book. "Oh, you must be the transfer student, Uchiha Akito." He said.

"Yes sir." Akito said, nodding.

The silver haired man stood, clearing his throat as a signal to the class that everyone should take a seat, which surprisingly, they did. "Class, this is Uchiha Akito, our new transfer student from Kyoto." He announced, placing his hand on the dark haired boy's shoulder.

"Uchiha Akito? Hey Sasuke-teme, he has the same last name as you!" the blonde boy shouted, pointing at Akito's look-alike.

The other boy crossed his arms. "That's because he's my cousin you moron." He said. Gaara just rolled his eyes and flicked at his pencil, watching it roll up his desk and then back down.

"You can't really be that stupid can you Naruto?" he sighed.

Before the blonde could snap back, a hand shot up in the front of the class. The girl with the soft pink hair was waving her slender arm in the air, almost bursting from her seat to say something. Akito couldn't help but look over at her. She was extremely beautiful, almost flawless. Actually, the more he stared the more he realized he couldn't find anything wrong with her. Though instead of knee high socks, she was wearing thigh high stockings, which perked his interest a bit more. But of course looks could be deceiving. "Yes Natsumi?" Kakashi said, giving her a nod.

She lowered her hand and smiled brightly. "Kakashi-sensei! Akito-kun can sit next to me!"

As soon as she spoke, Akito lost his interest. It seemed she was one of _those_ girls. The really perky ones who were always nice. His gaze strayed to the girl sitting next to Natsumi, the one with the pale lavender eyes. She seemed quiet, he would much rather sit next to her.

"Akito, you may take the seat next to Natsumi." His teacher directed, pointing to the empty chair next to the bubbling girl. As Akito began to walk towards his seat, Sasuke spoke up.

"Sensei, shouldn't you have the new kid tell us about himself?" he asked, smirking slightly. He just loved to pick on his cousin.

Kakashi nodded. "Of course. Akito." He said, gesturing to the class, signaling for him to speak. Akito looked over the group with slight boredom in his gaze.

"My name is Uchiha Akito, I used to go to school in Kyoto, and my cousin Sasuke used to be afraid of the dark so badly he would beg Itachi to let him sleep in his room." He said, smirking triumphantly as Sasuke's smirk was wiped off his face. Then he sat down, setting his black messenger bag next to his chair.

"Whoa teme, you used to be afraid of the dark?" Naruto asked with a snicker. Sasuke glared over at the blonde.

"Shut up." He said, crossing his arms and facing forward once more.

"Seriously Naruto." Gaara rolled his eyes, leaning back on the legs of his chair. "You were afraid of lady bugs two weeks ago."

The pink haired girl in front of the redhead held in a laugh, trying not to be too loud. Natsumi just smiled at Akito and offered her hand to him. "Hello, I'm Natsumi. I hope you'll enjoy it here."

"Hn." He said, shaking her hand quickly before facing the front.

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Okay kids, it's time to start learning. Now open your books to page twenty-five and read silently. If you have a question, please, hesitate to ask." He said, sitting behind his desk and pulling out an orange book.

The class actually opened up their books and started reading, leaving the whole room silent. Natsumi just flipped through the pages, reading more quickly than everyone else. There was a tap on Akito's shoulder, and when he glanced back he was met by a friendly smile. There was a redhead sitting behind him that looked similar to the one in the back. "Hey," he whispered, holding out his hand. "I'm Toshiro, since you're new, if you need anything just ask. Plus, I know she's kinda…" he stopped, pointing a finger at his head and moved it in a circular motion to signify she was koo-koo.

Natsumi glanced back with her peripherals, actually frowning, but trying to focus on her reading. Akito held out his hand and shook his hand, actually meaning it. "Thanks. Does this school have a track team?" He asked.

He nodded, "Yeah. Actually we're meeting after school today. I'm on it myself. We can just meet up after, I'll introduce you to the coach. And if you show promise, he will most likely put you on the team."

"Cool." He said with a nod, turning back around and looking back down at his open text book. He flipped through the pages quickly until he finished the chapter, shutting it right afterwards and sitting back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

It wasn't much longer before the bell rang. The whole class got up and started out. Natsumi stood up and picked up her bag. "Well, see you later Akito-kun, try not to get lost." She smiled, walking off with the blonde she was talking to at the beginning of class and the other pink haired girl.

Toshiro got up, grabbing his bag. He stopped next to Akito and waited for him. "So you like track? No offense, but you don't look too much interested in sports of the like."

Akito stood and shouldered his messenger bag. "Yeah, I've been in track since I was young." He said, following the redhead out into the hall.

"Cool, sounds fun. Can't wait to see you run." He nodded as they strolled through the halls filled with students now. "Sorry you got stuck next to picture perfect Natsumi." He gave him a small nudge, he wanted to make sure the new guy didn't feel left out, especially considering his image. People could be pretty cruel and considering Sasuke was already out to humiliate him, it wouldn't bode well for him to be alone.

"I don't really care all that much. If you can't already tell, I like to be alone for the most part." The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "It's a trait of the Uchiha family." He said.

He nodded, "Yes well, even Itachi and Sasuke have someone. Actually Sasuke has three. So it couldn't hurt right. Plus I could always help you handle anything you come across with the others. You do have five classes with them, so you might as well get used to them right?"

Akito nodded. "You do have a point. It would be wise for me to know about the people I am attending school with. Tell me, who is our class president?" he asked.

"That would be Hyuuga Minako, she sits next to me. She's really, really nice. You might actually like her. But she doesn't say much, but she is on the debate team…not sure why though." He laughed, scratching at his cheek.

"It is a bit contradictory." Akito said, smiling slightly despite himself. He didn't know why, but he felt like he and Toshiro could be friends. "Are she and that girl who sits on the other side of Natsumi related?"

"Oh yes," he nodded, clapping his hands together. "They are cousins, her name is Hyuuga Hinata. She's even quieter than Minako, but she's the class vice president. She's in the science club and the gardening club. She's got a huge crush on that really annoying blonde though."

"Why? He's a complete idiot."

"I dunno, it's weird. But he's pretty cool too. Everyone likes him." Toshiro said with a shrug.

"Hm. So are you and that other redhead related? And Natsumi and that other pink haired girl?" he asked.

He sighed, thinking about his elder. "Yes, Gaara is my elder brother by less than a year, hence why we are in the same grade. He's kinda…mean…but whatever I don't want to talk about him. And yes again. Natsumi and Sakura are cousins. They are freakishly perfect and extremely alike, I think their only differences are their eyes, boob size, and Natsumi's hair is a bit shorter. Sakura keeps to herself mostly. She's all about studying, so she probably won't ever talk to you. And Natsumi is…well…" he paused, tapping his chin. "Everywhere."

"What do you mean by everywhere?" Akito asked, confusion marring his brow.

"Well, she's a straight A student, the head cheerleader, captain of the debate team, in the chess club, gardening club, and in clinical. She plays soccer, volleyball, and she's on the track team. She's actually the fastest. She broke the national record last year at the competition." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "So, everywhere."

"Hm." Akito said contemplatively. This would not bode well if he had to hang around that perky girl wherever he went. Before anything more could be said, they were in front of the door to their next class, English, with some woman named Anko.

When they walked in everyone was already seated, and a woman with a harsh expression on her face sat on the desk at the head of the class. "Well alright punks, now that we're all here we can finally start." She said, watching the two take their seats. "Now today we're starting a new book," she said, taking in her new student. "Lucky for you, Uchiha Akito. Why don't you come up here and be one of the readers." She snapped, pointing down to the floor.

He stood and walked to the front of the room, his book in his hands. "How long do you want me to read?" he asked, already disliking the woman for making him read to the class. He preferred to read on his own, since he read faster than most others.

She scoffed, giving him a contemplative look. "Hold your horses Pansy Dan. We're reading a very famous play. Now who has a good reading voice…" she trailed off, scanning her victims. "Natsumi get up here. You're going to be reading for Juliet."

The pink haired girl blinked, going a bit wide eyed but stood, "Um…ok." She said walking to the front of the room.

Akito refrained from sighing and opened his book. "If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss." He read, quite convincingly to everyone's surprise.

She glanced at him, thoroughly impressed with his articulation. She took a fortifying breath and focused on the page, beginning to read. "___Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."_

"Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?" Akito read, glancing up at her.

"___Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer." She said softly._

___They continued to read from the play for the rest of class, until the bell rang. Without a second glance, Akito picked up his bag and shoved his playbook in it. Toshiro joined him and gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Nice reading. You're very good at it. You should try out for the drama club." He smiled._

___The quartet of boys who sat in the back walked past then and Gaara flicked Toshiro in the back of the head. "Yeah, if you want to be a queer. Right Toshiro?" he smirked, wrapping an unwelcomed arm around his younger brother. The younger redhead just gave him a small glare._

_"__Just because I like to act, doesn't mean I am gay." He pointed out. Gaara opened his mouth to counter, but was interrupted by a more feminine voice._

_"__Gaara you shouldn't be so discouraging to Toshiro, he's a wonderful actor." Natsumi said simply, picking up her back and heading out, waving good bye to the younger of the two. He waved back and shoved Gaara off. _

_"__Yeah, so leave me alone."_

Akito looked between the two. "Thanks for the offer Toshiro, but I think I'll pass. Acting isn't really my thing." He said.

"Shiro-kun is right though, you are pretty good at it." The girl called Minako said, shouldering her backpack.

"Pretty good for a nerd." The blonde huffed, walking over to the brunette of the group. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned into him as he placed his hand on her waist.

"Yeah what's up with that Akito? You kinda seem too cool to be a nerd, and could those glasses be any bigger?"

"They could I suppose, but that would just look stupid." Akito said.

"Ch." Sasuke said, crossing his arms. "You look stupid to me."

"At least my hair doesn't look like a chicken's ass in the back." Akito countered, crossing his arms. The two began to glare at each other then, entering a silent battle of wills.

Kiba rolled his eyes and walked off, heading towards their next class with Ino. Toshiro just stepped between the two and led Akito off. "Back off Sasuke, just go and pretend to be straight already." He said, leaving with his new friend.

"I hate him sometimes." Akito mumbled. "And it completely sucks when people ask us if we're twins. That's probably the worst part of being related to him."

Toshiro sighed and nodded, "I know what you mean, my friend. I know what you mean." He said as they headed towards their next class. It was mathematics, with Kurenai, and when they arrived they sat down and actually went through the class like he was used to. She actually taught, and at least the time flew by until they the bell rang to release them to lunch.

Natsumi stood and smiled down at Akito. "Well Akito-kun since you're new, I was wondering if you would like some company for lunch, we have a whole hour." She said, gripping her book closely to her chest.

"Not really." He said, picking up his bag and standing, so that he was now looking down at her. "I was going to spend my lunch looking around the school."

"Oh," she blinked and sighed. "Well ok. If you need any help don't hesitate to ask." She smiled, trying to be friendly.

"Thanks, but I'll just ask Toshiro if need be." He told her, heading out of the classroom.

"I don't think he likes you very much." Sakura said, having walked up to her cousin, since they usually ate lunch together. She sighed and shrugged.

"I'm just trying to be nice though." she told her, glancing back at her look alike.

Sakura gave her cousin a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it. Everyone likes you Natsumi, so just give him some time. Perhaps it's because he's all tense, you know how it is when it's your first day in a new place." She said, trying to help her feel better.

"Yeah Natsumi-chan. Maybe if you let him get to know you better he will be nicer. At least when school is over you will have track with him if he makes the team." Minako said.

"Besides, you know how Uchiha men are about emotions and whatnot." Sakura continued.

She sighed and shrugged. "I suppose so. I'm pretty sure just guys in general." She laughed but then stopped as Gaara came up to the group.

"Hey Sakura," he said, not bothering to greet the others around her.

"Hi Gaara." The pink haired woman said with a small smile, turning to face him. "What's up?"

"Just wondering what you are doing for lunch." He said, giving her a small hint of a smile.

She shrugged. "Nothing really. I figured I'd go over my notes from today's class, just to be sure I understood everything Kurenai-sensei taught us."

"Well, if you need help, I could always go over them with you. I'm making an A in the class." He said, offering a hand to her. Natsumi just rolled her eyes and leaned back on her heels, watching the exchange.

Sakura took the offered hand, her smile brightening. "That'd be great! Come on, we can eat lunch in the courtyard while we study. I made cookies last night, so you can have some if you want." She chattered.

The two left, and the remaining two sighed. "Well I'm just going to go work on some homework on the roof. See you later Minako." Natsumi waved to her friend and left, heading down the hall and up the steps. Once she reached the door, she walked out onto the flat space, looking around to make sure no one was around.

She sat down near one of the walls, since the roof was accessible to the students. It had high walls with a fence up from the side to make sure nothing bad could happen. She fished out one of her books and started reading. It wasn't a school book, but sometimes she just needed a break from school and her extracurricular activities.

The door to the roof opened, and out walked Akito. He had already seen as much of the school that would be necessary for his schedule, and had quickly looked for the way onto the roof. He found it was the quietest place he could go, and at his old school he would eat lunch there in order to get away from everybody else. He walked over to the edge and sat down, oblivious to the inquisitive gaze he was receiving.

Natsumi just stared at him, a bit shocked by his silent entrance and then his quick sit. She just stuck her nose in her book, trying not to pay him mind. She would just have to leave him be right? That's what Sakura had said, and she was the one eating lunch with a guy she thought was very attractive. Not that she liked this new guy, but she did want to be friends with him.

Akito pulled out a bento and started to eat, until he became aware that he wasn't alone on the roof. Seeing it was Natsumi, he grew confused. She seemed like the type to eat lunch with a bunch of people, talking and laughing it all up. Not be by herself on the roof. It was then he figured he was intruding on her quiet time, since he didn't like it when it happened to him. The fact that she hadn't said anything to him when he had first arrived indicated that she could be upset with him being on the roof. "Is my presence bothering you?" he asked, one hand holding his bento and the other poised with his chopsticks to begin eating.

She stopped reading and looked up at him nervously. She didn't want to say anything, since she found out when she started talking it was hard to stop, and he didn't seem to like that fact about her. But she would control herself. "Um…no." she shook her head and somewhat hid behind her book. "It's not like you're being loud or anything." She said and then clamped her mouth shut.

"Alright." He said, beginning to eat his lunch, though for some reason the silence was bothering him. He didn't really like it when she talked, and yet he didn't feel comfortable with her silence, because it seemed so unlike her. And so, he decided to initiate a conversation with her, since it wouldn't kill him to _try_ and be nice. "The book you're reading is a good one, have you read it before?" he asked, glancing up at her as he took a bite of his sushi.

Natsumi glanced up once more, still covering the lower half of her face with her book. This was odd, why was he talking to her? He didn't really give off the vibe of wanting to hear her talk, so she decided to just answer his question and be silent once more. "Um no, I haven't my cousin bought it for me as an early birthday present. But I really like it so far." She said smiling a bit and then covering up her face once more. _Keep it in_, she told herself, steadying her breathing.

Akito smirked. "Natsumi, I know you're not usually this quiet, so this leaves me to believe in either three theories. One, you don't want me up here with you at all, in which case you should have said so earlier, for I would not have been offended. Two, I am making you nervous, though I cannot fathom why, since before now you didn't hesitate to speak to me. Or three, you're trying really, really hard not to get on my nerves. Which one is it?" he asked, raising a brow.

She just huffed, and looked off, cursing her terrible acting skills. But she decided to avoid the question. "How can you know that, you just met me today." She pointed out smartly, anything to take the heat off.

"I am very good at observing people, especially those who are easy to read. Now stop avoiding my question, or I shall just have to assume the worst." He said, situating himself more comfortably against the wall.

She grimaced, giving him a small glare, but quickly changed her facial features, since that was never how she was supposed to appear. "Fine, ok. I was trying not to annoy you." She said, quickly looking off. "You don't seem to like me, and I was trying to be nice, but my cousin said to stop being annoying…this is kind of a new thing for me so, it's fine, I get it and it's fine."

He sighed, returning to his meal. "If Sakura is basing all of this on what she knows about my cousins, especially Sasuke, then you're going to annoy me faster than if you just act like yourself." He said, taking a bite.

"If it's only faster what does it matter?" she arched a delicate brow.

"Touché." He said, covering his now empty bento. He put it away and stood then, since class would be starting soon. "But I will be more tolerant of your chatter than I will be of being classified as the same as Sasuke. Or even Itachi. Besides, I hate people who act like something they're not." He said, shouldering his bag and walking to the door leading from the roof. He looked over his shoulder at her. "See you in class." He said, opening the door and leaving her by herself.

She sighed and closed her book, replacing it back in her bag. She got up and threw it over her shoulder heading towards the door as well, but not heading to class. After all, today was Thursday.

* * *

The bell rang and Toshiro ran in, just making it in time. He walked to his seat and sat down behind Akito, giving him a friendly smile. "Hey man, how was lunch? You enjoy the solitude?" he asked, not really caring that they were in class since their teacher wasn't even there yet.

"It was fine I suppose." He said with a shrug. When he noticed the seat next to him was empty, along with the one that blonde girl usually sat in, he looked at Toshiro inquisitively. "Where's Natsumi? She doesn't seem like the type to skip out on class."

"Oh she doesn't," he laughed, shaking his head. "She's got perfect attendance. Thursdays are cheerleading practice, so they are always excused this period. Though I do have to admit, those cheerleading outfits are really, really hot. You'll get to see them next period." He smirked, thinking about all the nice fit ladies who graced the games and events with their presence.

Minako sighed and shifted in her seat so that her hair fell like a curtain between her and the redhead. If she had known Toshiro liked the cheerleading uniforms that much, she might have tried out for the squad. Although, now that she thought about it, she didn't think she would be comfortable wearing such a revealing outfit, even if it was to try and gain his attention.

The door to the classroom opened then, and in walked a large, albeit not fat, man with long white hair. He sat down at the desk, signaling that he was the teacher, and began to type on his computer. "Okay class, today we are going to be starting our unit on World War Two, and you all know what that means." He said with a grin. "PowerPoint time!"

"Yes!" Naruto declared from the back of the class, pumping a fist in the air. "I can take a nap!"

"Idiot. If you nap every time we take notes, you're just going to fail, and then you won't get into college. If that happens, you won't get a good job." Sakura said, turning slightly in her seat to look back at the blonde.

Kiba just laughed, pulling out a pen and paper. "Forget about a good job or college. You'll never leave this school, and Anko will torture you for the rest of your life." He snickered, making both Gaara and Sasuke join in.

Jiraiya waved his hand. "Settle down, settle down. I don't care what you do, your life is your life. Just don't disrupt the class." He said, starting the lesson. Hinata took out another sheet of paper. She would just take two sets of notes, that way she could give the other one to Naruto so that he would be able to study.

Class seemed to go on for forever, since Power Points were incredibly boring, and everyone was relieved when the bell rang for them to go to their next class. It was gym with some guy named Gai. How interesting. Akito followed the guys into the men's locker room, where everyone went to their assigned lockers, that had their names printed on a small plaque, and began to change. It didn't take Akito any time at all to find his, since he had been issued it the day before, and had found it during lunch when he'd been looking around. Their gym uniforms consisted of black basketball shorts and white t-shirts with their last names printed on the back in lettering the color that symbolized their grade. The girl's outfits were the same, only their shorts were a lot shorter and made of a cloth material, instead of mesh.

Finished changing, he left the locker room and entered the gym. It was very large, consisting of a basketball court and two spaces about the same size as the court on either side, since the bleachers were pushed against the wall. They shared a gym class with the seniors, which meant his cousin Itachi should show up any second.

"Why hello there cousin. Long time no see." A deep voice greeted as an arm was wrapped around Akito's shoulders. Speak of the devil.

"Hello Itachi. I trust you have been well, although with Sasuke as your brother I can't see why." He returned, looking to the side at his elder cousin. Itachi looked a lot like him and Sasuke, only his black hair was long and tied into a ponytail at the base of his neck, and he had stress lines on his face underneath his eyes.

The elder Uchiha simply smirked and looked over to his redheaded companion. "See, I told you he was more interesting than Sasuke." He said.

"Mmm. I still prefer the pink haired ones. So cute." He smirked, looking over a bit, his grin widening. "Ah and here one comes. Hello Natsumi." Sasori said, taking in the girl's appearance.

She stopped and looked up at the senior, and then took in the scene, since she had just been headed towards the locker room to change for gym. "Oh hello Sasori. Hi Itachi." She smiled brightly, she had a duffle bag over her shoulder, dressed in her cheerleading uniform. It consisted of a short, pleated black skirt rimmed with a white strip at the bottom and top that went just below her butt, a pair of tight black spandex shorts beneath it. The top of the uniform was also black, its tight material going down just far enough to cover her chest, revealing her flat, toned stomach to all the world. It was sleeveless, and also had a white strip rimming the bottom and top, as well as sloping underneath her arms and across her chest, creating a V on the front.

"Hello Natsumi. I trust you have already become acquainted with my little cousin." Itachi said, ruffling Akito's hair, causing the barely shorter boy to scowl and move away from him.

"We're in the same class Itachi, of course she knows who I am." He grumbled, fixing his unruly locks.

She nodded, "Oh yes. Akito sits right next to me in our classes. Though he thinks I talk too much." She laughed, sparing the younger Uchiha a glance before returning it to the older boys.

"Nonsense," Sasori brushed off the 'boy' and gave her a dark smile. "I find everything about you adorable and alluring. Don't you agree Itachi?" he said, looking to his best friend.

"Oh yes. Quite alluring." Itachi said, giving the pink haired girl a once over.

Akito shook his head. "Perverts." He mumbled, crossing his arms. Although he would be a fool if he said Natsumi wasn't extremely hot in her cheerleading outfit. He finally understood why Toshiro had said he liked them so much.

"Um…thanks?" she laughed, trying not to appear uncomfortable with their statements. "Well I have to change into my gym uniform so I'll see you guys in a bit." She waved, giving Akito one last smile before heading off into the locker room.

Sasori and Itachi stared after her, watching her rear. Sasori just pressed his hand to his stomach and smirked, "Mm, I want her so bad. She's just too cute to be innocent anymore."

"I know exactly what you mean." Itachi agreed, looking over at the door that led to the girl's locker room. "Ah, and here comes someone else who should no longer be innocent." He said as Sakura came out, trying to tie her short pink hair in a ponytail on order to better keep it out of her face.

Sasori's smirk grew. "Just like a box set. Oh Sakura~" Sasori called, trying to get the pink haired girl's attention. Gaara walked up beside the other redhead and shoved him harshly.

"I will kill you Sasori, so don't even try it." He said seriously, walking away from his elder brother and intercepting Sakura. "Hey," he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "You ready for today's game?"

She returned his look, pulling her hair tight and placing her hands on her hips. "Of course. I'm always ready to hear whatever strange new way Gai-sensei comes up with to make a simple game complicated so that everyone gets all sweaty." She joked.

He laughed and nodded, glancing past her shoulder as Natsumi walked up, stopping beside her cousin. "Yo Gaara. Sakura. What's up? How was History?" she asked.

"Pretty interesting actually." Gaara said, perking up slightly about one of the only classes he truly liked.

"We took notes on World War Two. Don't worry, I made you a copy." Sakura said with a nod.

"Sweetness." She smiled, looking up a bit to see two figures on either side of Gaara. The elder redhead pushed Gaara aside and Itachi and Sasori simply stared down at the two girls.

"My, my Gaara. Keeping all the lovelies to yourself. It's quite rude."

"Nobody likes a selfish person you know." Itachi said.

Minako and Hinata came out of the locker room then, chatting softly to one another. They walked up to the two pink haired girls, and Minako smiled at them. "Hi Natsumi-chan! How was cheerleading practice?" she asked.

The two elder boy's grins just grew at their fortune. Now they had the two cutest and the two with the biggest breasts in their midst. "Oh it was really, really good. Everyone can now land their splits. I don't know why it was so hard for them," she shrugged, laughing.

Sasori just sighed in content. "I'd like to see that splits." he mumbled, glancing at his friend.

"I know what you mean. Natsumi, will we be getting to see this new move at the next game?" Itachi asked her, a mischievous look in his dark eyes.

She looked up at the two and nodded, oblivious to their stares. "Oh yes, most likely it will be perfected by then."

The redhead just laughed. "And you could definitely use those flexible moves in _other_ situations, couldn't you?"

Her brow furrowed in confusion, but before she could say anything the whistle was blown and a man in a green spandex jump suit walked out, with orange leg warmers. "HELLO CLASS! WELCOME TOANOTHER WONDERFUL DAY OF GYM!" he shouted, throwing his hand and arms open. Everyone just stared at him in disgust, or horror. Except for a boy dressed similar to him.

"Gai-sensei! I love you!"

"And I love you Lee!"

The two hugged then making everyone try and move away. When they released, he set his hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Alright everyone! Today we are playing baseball! Isn't that exciting?" he bubbled, laughing loudly, along with his obvious number one student.

"Now the team captains are going to be Lee here and my other star athlete!" he announced, gesturing over to Natsumi. "My lovely little wild flower, Natsumi!" he cheered, throwing confetti in the air.

Ino just arched a delicate brow, glancing over at Sasuke. "Where'd he get the confetti?"

"Probably some hidden pockets in that ridiculous outfit he wears." The young Uchiha said.

Naruto crossed his arms. "They're such freaks." He said.

"I know," Kiba frowned and then went wide eyed. "Oh God I hope he doesn't pick me for his team." He shivered.

"Well, he may be a bit odd, but at least Lee is good at sports, so he isn't a bad person to have on your team." Hinata said softly, poking her fingers together.

They all just rolled their eyes and grouped together as Natsumi stood next to Gai, with Lee scooting closer to her. "Hey there Natty-chan! Looks like we're team captains again!" he smiled, wrapping an around her.

She shivered visibly and tried to pry out from his grasp. "Uh yeah, please let go now." She grimaced.

"Okay my little pupils, pick your teammates!" Gai said, clapping his hands together. "And as always, Natsumi gets first pick, since she is a girl."

The pink haired girl finally pried Lee off of her and moved away and out of his reach. "Well, I pick Sakura." She said, pointing to her cousin.

"Natty-chan!" Lee exclaimed, looking stricken as Sakura walked over to the other side. "You always pick Sakura-chan! That's no fair!"

"She picks me so that I'm not stuck with you, you freak." Sakura said, crossing her arms as she stopped next to her cousin. "Thanks." She gave Natsumi a grateful look.

"You know I always got your back." She smiled, setting her hands on her hips.

Lee huffed and stepped forward, declaring his choice, "Neji!"

"Gaara."

"Tenten!"

"Akito."

"Temari-chan!"

"Kiba."

"Hina-chan!"

"Itachi."

"Naruto-kun!"

"Ino."

"Shika-Shika-kun!"

"Minako."

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Toshiro."

"Saso-kun!"

"Let's go teams!" Gai said, waving for everyone to follow him outside to the baseball field. Once they arrived, he pointed to Natsumi. "Natsumi's team is up to bat first, Lee-o-nites, take the field." He instructed.

"Lee-o-what now?" Sasori arched a brow, giving their teacher a murderous look.

"Lee-o-nites!" the bushy eye browed man said, smiling brightly.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "I would rather die before being on a team called something so stupid." He said.

"We should be called the Ramen-ators!" Naruto exclaimed, giving everyone on his team an excited look.

Sasori just groaned into his hand and walked off with the other respectable members of their team.

"Ok guys. Are you ready for victory?" Natsumi asked, pounding her fist into her open palm.

"I refuse to lose to my brother." Itachi stated, meaning a yes.

Minako looked around. "Who wants to bat first?" she asked.

"Oh I will." Natsumi smiled and picked up one of the offered bats, testing the feel.

Akito just watched, crossing his arms. "No offense or anything…" he trailed off, looking at Toshiro, who was now beside him as they sat down in the lineup. "But how can this little slip of a girl be a star athlete?"

Itachi sat on his other side and smirked, patting his younger cousin's leg. "Just watch little boy, and you'll see.

Natsumi stepped up to the plate, as Sasori moved a bit back, since he was the umpire. A position he chose for a certain reason. Natsumi tapped the ground with the bat and then straightened, leaning a bit forward, ready to hit. The redhead smirked, his eyes only on the girl's perfect and firm behind.

Gai straightened up, since he would be pitching for both teams. "Ready?"

"As ready as I will ever be." She called, tightening her grip. Gai wound up the ball and threw it as fast as he could, which was a little frightening. But just as it was about to fly past, there was a loud crack and it went soaring out of the field. Minako, Ino, and Sakura stood, cheering loudly, as Natsumi took off, dropping the bat behind her. Even though the others had gone far out in knowledge of how far it would go, it took them a bit too long to get it thrown back into the actual field.

When it was finally back, Natsumi was already heading towards home plate. She glanced up and slid just in time to get safe, but not without Sasori trying to get her out with the ball in hand. Though when the dust cleared, his hand that was 'trying to tag her' was groping her behind. She blinked and slapped his hand away, going a dark red. "Pervert." She snapped, trying to dust herself off as she walked back to the pit.

Akito stood then and picked up the bat, walking over to the plate. He swung the bat a bit and then got into position, his face blank. "Go Akito!" Natsumi cheered from behind. "Show no fear!"

"Oh ho! Looks like our new student is a brave one, to go after Natsumi!" Gai declared, getting into position. "Are you rea-"

"Just throw the ball." Akito said, cutting off the teacher. Gai nodded and wound his arm, releasing the ball as quickly as he had for Natsumi. Akito swung and hit it, causing the ball to fly far enough out that it was an automatic home run. He dropped the bat and began to walk around the bases, smirking at Sasuke as he passed. When he got back to home plate, he looked at Sasori. "What a shame, you didn't get to try and grab my ass." He said.

"Please," he rolled his eyes. "Don't flatter yourself, pretty boy." He smirked darkly.

Akito walked back to the pit, then allowing Sakura to pass him. "Wow, great job Akito! That was amazing!" Natsumi smiled excitedly, lacing her fingers together.

"Hn." Was all he said as he took his seat next to Itachi.

Sakura picked up the bat, testing its feel and wriggling her hips a bit to get into position, oblivious of Sasori's lecherous gaze on her rear. Gai threw the ball with precision, and she hit it expertly, quickly dropping the bat and running to first base as fast as she could. By the time the ball was retrieved, she had made it all the way to second base.

Eventually the teams switched, and their game continued for the rest of class. When the bell rang, signaling that the school day was over, everyone headed off to prepare for their individual after school activities. Akito walked over to Toshiro. "So where does Track usually meet?" he asked.

"Well we usually just stay here and change into our track clothes. Since Gai is the coach. But you want to talk to him now? I'm sure he'll be impressed." He said, giving him a nudge towards the odd man.

"Sure." He said, walking up to him.

"My, my Akito, you impressed me today with your athletic prowess. What can I help you with my boy?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"I wish to join your Track Team." Akito stated.

Gai looked contemplative. "I don't know, it's not an easy task, and you didn't really run in the baseball game, so I have no idea as to how fast you can go." He said.

"Then let me practice with the team today, and I will show you." The Uchiha countered.

He laughed and held his stomach from the heartiness. "Well you will just have to ask the team captain if you can intrude upon her practice." He smiled a toothy grin.

Akito held in a sigh, already guessing who the team captain was. He turned and walked over to her, since she was talking to Minako. "Natsumi." He said in order to get her attention.

Their conversation ceased and the two looked over at Akito and Toshiro, who was close behind him. "Yes?" she asked, looking between the two.

"Gai-sensei said I needed to ask you if I can practice with the Track team today so that he can see my skill level." He said.

Sensing the change of the conversation, Minako gave them a wave and said goodbye to Natsumi. She focused on the two and smiled. "Well I don't see why not, as long as you don't disturb anyone else. And there's no cockiness or making people look bad. Cause' this is a team and we should work like one. Ok?"

"Got it." He said with a nod.

"Alrighty, then you can. You guys better get changed, Toshiro you can get Akito some track wear and meet me outside in five minutes. I do not accept tardiness." She told them, sounding very serious as she walked off to go outside to the track.

Toshiro sighed and walked towards the locker room. "And trust me, she's not so nice when people are late. So we'd better hurry."

"I can't picture her as anything but nice, but I'll take your word for it." He said, following the redhead back to the locker room. Toshiro handed him a set of clothes.

"Here, you can just use my spare uniform until Gai-sensei gets you one." He said.

"Thanks." Akito said, putting the clothes on. They were pretty much the same as their gym uniforms, black shorts and a white shirt, only the shorts were made of nylon and a lot shorter, and the shirts were sleeveless.

They walked out, joining the small group on the field in the center of the track, since the football team was working out today. "Alright!" Natsumi shouted, crossing her arms as she stood in front of the group. "I hate to say it, but our last run against our sister school was terrible. I know you guys can do better than that. I've seen it. So we're practicing twice as long today. I don't want anyone leaving unless their legs are about to turn to jelly. Do you understand?" she asked, her face a much harder expression than her norm.

"We also have a visitor." She snapped, and ordered silently for the Uchiha to come and join her so she could introduce him. He did just that, very intrigue by this new side of the perky girl he had first met. "This is Uchiha Akito. He's going to be trying out for the team. So Akito, tell the team what it is you are going to be trying out for."

"Sprints, middle-distance, long-distance, relays, and hurdles. Pretty much anything to do with running." He told them. Some of the girls started to laugh, but it wasn't the normal giggles he would receive from the female population. It seemed they were amused with the thought of someone else trying to best the captain.

"Shouldn't you be in the nerd club?" a boy snickered, elbowing one of his friends. Toshiro just rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he really didn't like people. But before Akito could say anything Natsumi walked up and glared up at him.

"Excuse me Tamaki? What was that? Are you judging someone based on their appearance? You do remember that I am in the Chess Club and the Science Club, right? You weren't thinking of saying something about someone you know nothing about, were you?" she said darkly, making him go a bit wide eyed.

"No ma'am." He shook his head.

"Good. Now go run around the school five times. Then come back and I will decide if that's enough for your comment." She said, pointing off. He nodded and started off towards the building.

"What would you like me to do during this practice, Captain?" Akito asked her politely. It was the least he could do, for he hadn't really expected her to stick up for him, however unnecessary that it was, since he hadn't really been nice to her.

She held her palm out to him, silencing his question. "Now I want everyone to team up with someone in your event. I want you to push yourselves beyond the limit today. But make sure you drink water. That's very important." She said, smiling at them. Soon everyone began to break off and Toshiro went off with a nice looking brunette, who was talking about the high jump and how she had been practicing. Finally, Natsumi turned to face Akito and sighed. "Ok, now you and I will see just how fast you can run and I will decide what you will be doing. I'll time you first. Alright?"

"Okay." He said, heading over to the track where he would run. He lowered down into the starting position and waited for Natsumi to tell him to go. She had already taken up her position at the end of the track and placed the whistle around her neck in her mouth. She readied the timer that was hanging on a string and looked up, blowing as hard as she could. At the sound of the whistle, Akito took off and she clicked the start button. She kept her eyes one him the whole time and hit the stop button once he passed the finish line.

"Hm. Impressive." She said, glancing up at him as he approached her, his breathing a bit heavy, but still controlled.

He picked up a spare water bottle that was sitting on the field and took a long drink. "Is there anything else you wish for me to do?" he asked, taking another gulp of the refreshing liquid.

"Yes." She said, walking off, not bothering to tell him to follow since it should have been obvious. On the other side of the track the hurdles were set up. She pointed to the obstacles and looked back at him. "I want you to run those until I tell you to stop. Understand?"

Akito just nodded, placing down the water bottle. Stretching a bit, so that his muscles wouldn't cramp. Natsumi placed the whistle back in her mouth and blew it, signaling him to begin. He began to run at a fast, yet leisurely pace, speeding up in order to clear every hurdle that got in his way. He jumped over the first one gracefully, and landed in a way that didn't break his stride in his run. As he usually did when he was running, his mind cleared completely and he was wrapped up in what he was doing, as if nothing else existed but him and the track.

She watched him clear the whole run, which was notable, since the task was not an easy feat. Once he finished, she blew the whistle and pointed to the beginning, silently saying to do it again, because repetition was everything to her. She blew it again, telling him to start once more and he did, executing it perfectly as he had the first time. She made him run it at least seven more times, until she blew her whistle twice and gestured for him to come back.

He walked back over to her and began to stretch some more, since it was important to do so even after a run. His breathing was controlled, and he looked up at her, silently asking how he did. "You are very good. So, you can pick whatever you want to participate in. But make sure you don't pick too much. Doing a lot isn't healthy and it can really wear on your body and your mind."

"Of course." He nodded. "I will probably just participate in the long distance races, unless I am needed elsewhere if another team member cannot come to one of the meets." He said, straightening.

"I think you should do the hurdles and relay as well, unless you don't want to do the relay. I know some people don't like the whole joint thing."

"I don't mind. As you said, we are a team, and if those areas are where I am needed as well then I will also do those." He said, picking his water bottle back up and finishing it.

She nodded, "Well you can leave now if you want. It's already been nearly an hour and I will tell Gai-sensei."

"Alright." He said, walking off towards the locker rooms in order to shower and put his school uniform back on. He felt like he'd gotten a good workout this afternoon, and as far as first days went, it wasn't too bad.


	2. Family Feud

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Two_

-Family Feud-

Akito walked out of the locker room, now dressed in his school uniform. He didn't have track practice today, since it was only on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, and the Chess Club, which he had joined, met every Monday after school, so Wednesdays and Fridays he didn't have to stay after. He was glad it was Friday, having already grown tired of school. He'd completed his first week at Gakugei High, and it wasn't all that bad.

He walked over to where everyone was sitting, waiting for class to be over. Natsumi, already dressed in her uniform, smiled up at him, holding her books close to her chest. "Hey Akito, you know how we have to have that power point presentation in history done by Monday, you want to do it together over the weekend?" she asked.

"Sure. We can do it over at my place if you want." He said, dropping his bag down next to her and sat down.

She blinked, looking a bit shocked that he had actually said yes. He'd never said yes to study before. "Really?"

"Well we have to get it done, don't we? Do you have transportation, or do you need me to come pick you up?" he asked.

Natsumi just sat there, staring at him, wide-eyed. Sakura, deciding to come to her cousin's rescue, hit her leg harshly, breaking her out of her trance. "Yes, she needs you to get her." She said. The bell rang, and Akito nodded.

"I will pick you up at one-thirty. Don't worry, I will look up your address in the school's directory." He said, standing and shouldering his bag. Then he turned and began to walk away.

"Uh ok." She said, for the first time speechless. Toshiro met up with Akito and gave him a smirk.

"Well, well, well. Look who's got a study date." The redhead said with a light chuckle.

Akito glared lightly at him. "It's not a date. We have to finish the History project, and that is all we will be doing." He said.

Toshiro shouldered his bag and gave him a look. "Right. _The_ prettiest girl in school is coming to your house to study. And all you're going to do is history? Mhm, sure."

"Whatever. I'm not interested in her like that." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Please," he rolled his eyes. "Everyone is interested in her like that." He laughed, though that wasn't completely true, since he himself wasn't and a few others. "Anyways. You wanna come over today? It's Friday, and we can hang and watch some movies in my home theatre, it's pretty sweet."

He nodded. "Sounds great. A lot better than being stuck with my cousins. Just one more year, and then I can move out and get my own place."

"Yeah," he nodded, thinking about his own family. "Plus Temari is going over to Shikamaru's and Sasori is never home during the weekend. I don't even want to know what he does, since I'm pretty sure I already know. So here," he stopped and pulled out his cell phone starting to add him to his contacts. He handed him the phone and let him put in his number. "I'll text you the address and you can come over whenever."

"Sounds good. I'll just swing by my house and change." He said, exchanging phones with the redhead. "Then I'll come over."

"Sweet." He nodded, entering his number and name. He tossed the phone back and gave him a wave. "See you later. Try not to get harassed by your lynch mob." He snickered, pointing behind him, to the group of guys glaring daggers at the young Uchiha.

Akito waved and headed down one of the hallways towards a side exit, not really paying those guys any mind. High schools were just pathetic in their need for drama. It was in moments like this he wished he hadn't decided to pretend to be a nerd, and had continued on with his 'bad boy' image. But then he would just have groups of fan girls after him, and at least this way he could defend himself if necessary.

He walked out into the sunlight and down a set of steps to his motorcycle. Placing his bag in the small compartment serving as a trunk, he took off his glasses, put on his helmet and got on, starting it up. With a smirk, he shut the visor, hiding his face from everyone. Then he backed up, revved his engine, and sped off towards the richest part of town.

He loved motorcycles, they were fast, elegant, and just plain awesome. He slowed and pulled into a large driveway, leaving his bike out, since he was going to leave shortly. He went inside the huge mansion that he shared with his cousins and their parents. Akito ran upstairs to his room, quickly changing into a pair of loose, dark denim jeans and a black t-shirt. As he came back down stairs, he walked into the living room and grabbed his black converse, sitting down in one of the recliners to put them on.

Itachi looked up from the book he was reading, raising a brow. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Out." Was all he said, tying up his shoes. Sasuke looked over at him, pausing in his act of flipping through the channels.

"What, is our company not good enough for you?" he asked with a smirk, not really caring.

Akito stood and grabbed his keys. "Actually, I just hate you guys, and don't want to spend any more time with you than I have to." He said, heading out the door just as he got Toshiro's text message. Knowing where the redhead's house was located, since it wasn't too far from his own home, he got back on his motorcycle and drove over.

He pulled up to Toshiro's house and got off his bike, replacing his glasses on his face. He walked up the sidewalk and rang the doorbell, stepping away as he waited for the redhead to answer. When the door did open, it wasn't the redhead, it was a harsh looking man with brown hair. "Hm." He gave the boy a once over. "You must be Akito. An Uchiha, correct?" he asked.

"Yes sir." he said, not intimidated in the least.

"Hm. Good. At least my sons are keeping good company. Unlike that riff raff of a blonde." he said darkly, allowing him to pass. "Well enjoy your stay. Toshiro is already in the theatre, if you need help finding it, the maids can help you." He said, before leaving, most likely to head out to the office.

He stepped into the massive foyer, the whole place was done up in an old fashioned, traditional style. Everything was made of a dark mahogany, with beautiful carvings everywhere. The floor was made of black and white tiled marble. There were two stairs cases going along either side of the walls, two doors on either side of him. A woman walked through the double doors from between the stair cases. She stopped and blinked, "Can I help you sir?"

"Can you tell me the way to the home theatre?" he asked.

"Oh yes," she nodded and pointed up the left staircase. "It's in the left wing, just go all the way down the hall. You'll have to make a few turns, but it's on the end with double doors. Master Toshiro is there already. Can I get you anything Uchiha-sama?"

"No thank you." He said, heading up the stairs and following her directions. He finally came up to a door that was fashioned like a movie theatre door, and that was when he knew he was at the right room. He opened the door and walked in, seeing Toshiro sitting in the middle row. "Sup man." He said, sitting next to his friend.

"Hey, glad you could make it. Though good thing we live in the same neighborhood." He smiled, leaning back in his chair, a huge bowl of popcorn in his lap.

"Yeah. The house wasn't too hard to find at all." He took a handful of popcorn and began to munch on it. "So what are we watching?" he asked.

"Dinner for Schmucks." He snickered. "I heard it was hilarious."

"Sweet." He said, facing forward as the movie began to play.

Toshiro picked up his glass and offered it over to him, without taking his eyes off the screen. "Dr. Pepper?"

"Yup." Akito said, taking the glass and drinking from it without looking away. Then he handed it back to Toshiro. They sat in comfortable silence, enjoying the movie. It seemed they would be excellent friends. Not twenty minutes into the movie, the door in the back opened and there was loud chatter. Sasori and Itachi walked in, snickered darkly, most likely talking about their favorite thing in the world. Women.

They stopped at the top and looked down seeing their brother's. "Oh little Toshi, staying home on a Friday night?" he asked, going down and taking a seat next to his brother. Itachi did the same and sat next to his cousin.

"What are you talking about Sasori, he's not staying home. He's got himself a date, doesn't he Akito?" he smirked, patting Akito's knee. "It's ok. I still accept you as my cousin."

Akito glared at Itachi. "Shut up Itachi." He said, trying to ignore his elder cousin and watch the movie. A few minutes later the door opened once more and in came Sasuke and Gaara.

"Oops. It appears we are interrupting a double date Gaara." He said, smirking. Itachi didn't even spare them a glance, ensconced in the movie.

"Too late, little brother. I already used a similar joke. Seems you still can't come up with any good jokes of your own." He said. The corner of Akito's mouth lifted at this. No matter how much he hated his cousins, he did enjoy seeing Sasuke brought down by Itachi.

Gaara glanced to his friend and shook his head, giving him a knowing smirk. "My friend, this is much less formal than a double date. As you can clearly see, this is incest." He pointed, walking and sitting down behind his younger brother as Sasuke sat behind Akito. They kicked their feet up and propped them on their chairs and in turn, their heads. "Oh, Dinner for Schmucks. I love this movie." He said, leaning forward and fisting a handful of popcorn from Toshiro.

The youngest redhead's eye twitched, and he was gripping the bowl so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Akito took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "I thought you said they would be gone." He said lowly, so that only Toshiro could hear him.

"They were gone…I have no idea what they are doing here." He said back, just as quietly, until he looked over at his older brother. "What are you doing here." He demanded.

"Well, I just left to go get Itachi. I was feeling cozy since tomorrow I'm taking the day to woo the lovely Haruno Sakura." He said, making Gaara sit up quickly and glare down at his elder.

"Excuse me?"

Sasori glanced up and shrugged. "She's just so sweet looking I want to taint it. Besides since we couldn't decide which we wanted, Itachi and I played rock paper scissors for Natsumi. Unfortunately, I lost, but Sakura is a wonderful consolation prize."

"Sakura is _not_ a consolation prize damnit!" Gaara practically yelled, only getting angrier.

Itachi turned then. "You're absolutely right Gaara." He said.

"I am?" the redhead asked, slightly stunned. Itachi never took his side in things, since he was just as bad as his older brother.

"Of course. Sakura is more like a trophy. Something that Sasori is going to have to work at a bit to win." He explained.

This only made him angrier. "I'm going to kill you, both of you. You stay away from Sakura, you got it?" he glared, more so at his brother than Itachi.

Sasori just smirked, his brother simply made it too easy and far too much fun. "Well, Gaara. I think you shouldn't deny Sakura if she wants what she wants. I am the elder of the family and I do not take orders from you. So take a chill pill and go make friends with another little girl. Because for the next couple of weeks, I will have my fill of that precious flower's sweet spot."

"I am so glad I don't have to deal with crap like this." Sasuke said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.

"That's because you're gay, Sasuke. And don't pretend like you're not." Akito said, having given up on getting to see the rest of the movie.

The middle Uchiha glared down at his cousin. "I don't see you taking an interest in women either Akito, so keep your mouth shut."

"Au contraire, little brother. Akito here has a study date with my dear Natsumi tomorrow." Itachi said, smirking.

"It's not a date." Akito said, hating that everyone was labeling it as such.

Itachi raised a brow at him. "Then you wouldn't mind if I popped up to keep you guys company, would you? After all, someone needs to show her what a real man is."

"Don't even think about it. We are going to be working on a project, and will need solitude and silence in order to complete it." Akito said, glaring.

"Well as the man of the house, I can't allow you two to be left alone in a room. So I will just supervise." The eldest Uchiha said.

Akito crossed his arms. "I really hate you right now." He grumbled.

"Me too." Said Sasuke, mirroring Akito's expression.

Itachi just smiled and leaned back in his chair, crossing his own arms triumphantly. "Good, then my daily goal has been met."

"No fair Itachi, that adorable little button is going to be in your house tomorrow? I call foul on that." Sasori spoke up, giving his friend a look. Toshiro glared at his brother. What were they doing now? Making Sakura and Natsumi a competition? That was just disgusting.

"You guys make me sick." The youngest spat out.

Itachi just ignored him. "You can't call a foul. It is completely fair. And it isn't my fault Gaara doesn't have the balls to ask for Sakura to come over to your house. Clearly, all that perfection intimidates him." He said.

"It doesn't intimidate me!" Gaara stood, his hands formed into fists. "And Akito didn't ask Natsumi, she asked him! Besides, why the hell would I want Sakura to come here when that vile man lives here." He pointed accusingly at Sasori.

"Hey!" Sasori stood as well, glaring at Gaara. "I am not vile, you little brat. And I'll show you just how un-vile I am when I have Sakura all to myself." It was then that Gaara actually lunged over the seats and tackled Sasori to the next row, where they started getting into a fist fight.

Toshiro stood as well, a bit wide eyed, as the rest did and leaned over to try and get a better view.

"Come on Gaara, you got this is the bag!" Sasuke cheered, showing support for his best friend.

"Get him Sasori! Don't let that pansy win!" Itachi said.

Sasuke glared at him. "Don't call my best friend a pansy you ass!" he yelled, tackling the older Uchiha so that they were fighting alongside the elder Sabakus.

Akito looked from the fight to Toshiro. "So, you wanna go do something else?" he asked.

"Yeah," he sighed, walking out of the theatre. When the doors were closed and the noise was behind them, Toshiro looked to his friend. "Sorry about that. I didn't know they were coming over here."

"It's no problem. At least now they won't come bother us, since they're occupied." He said.

"I'm kinda interested to find out who'll win." The redhead laughed.

Akito shrugged. "Quite honestly, I'll be happy so long as both Itachi's and Sasuke's faces are covered in bruises." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting up in a small smile.

"I'd prefer Sasori to have a nice big black eye. That's just messed up what they're doing. I like Sakura and Natsumi. They're both really nice." Toshiro admitted, they finally stopped at some double doors and went into Toshiro's room. It was enormous and had everything a boy could want. There was a fire place, a magnificent mantle with a nice sitting area around it, a nice stereo system and a wonderful balcony. "Well this is my room, we can just hang in here."

"Awesome." Akito said, taking a seat. "So Gaara likes Sakura, huh?" he asked, wanting to get a handle on the full situation.

"Yeah, he's liked her since like…the third grade. Ever since she gave him a Valentine…which she also gave one to the whole class." He smirked, sitting down in one of his chairs. The whole room was decorated with red, brown, and black. So it had a nice warm feel to it.

Akito smirked. "And does she return your brother's feelings? Seems to me like all she cares about is school." He said.

He shrugged, "I dunno. She's about as easy to read as a blank piece of paper. She is really focused. But she hangs out with him a lot. Though she mostly keeps to herself. I think her and Natsumi have…issues…with each other."

"Hm." He said, not really caring enough to delve further into it. "So who do you like?" he asked, raising a brow at his friend.

The question seemed to catch him off guard, but he veiled his surprise. "Oh no one. I'm indifferent to the ladies." He said with a sigh.

"Makes sense. Women only cause trouble." Akito said, nodding.

The two just talked about idle things after that, getting to know one another. When it got pretty late, and had been dark outside for a long time, Akito rose to leave. He didn't want to be tired the next day, after all. Not really caring if Itachi or Sasuke were still there, he got on his motorcycle and left, thinking about the day to come. Despite what everyone else said, it was so not a date.


	3. Study Date

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Three_

-Study 'Date'-

Natsumi finished blow drying her hair and began running her fingers through it to give it a bit of volume. Today, she was going to go and finish her history project with Akito. She smiled a bit, glad he had invited her. She really wanted to be friends with him, and he seemed to want the same, possibly. After all, she liked hanging out with Sasuke when they did at school. She got dressed quickly, pulling on a loose, light grey skirt that stopped mid-thigh. She tugged on a white long sleeved shirt that scooped across the front. It was tight around her chest but was looser around her waist and in the sleeves.

She sat down on her bed and pulled on some grey thigh-high stockings that matched her skirt. When she was done getting ready, she grabbed her bag with her books and slung it over her shoulder. She slid open the door and entered the small living room of her apartment. It wasn't much at all, there was a TV that was still on, a couch, and one lazy boy chair. The kitchen was small and could barely fit one person at a time. There was a loud snoring on the chair, where a blond man wearing a white muscle shirt was dead asleep.

Natsumi rolled her eyes and headed towards the front door, slipping on her flats. At least she wouldn't have to deal with him today. Suddenly, the snoring stopped and she froze, glancing back. The man stood and glared over at the girl, his pale eyes angry. "And just where the hell do you think you are going?" he snapped.

"I'm going to go finish a project for school Dad. It's nothing, just go back to sleep." She said, heading for the door once more.

"With who? Your stuck up, little know-it-all cousin?" he snapped.

Natsumi glared at him, "No. And she's not stuck up, so just shut up already. I'm going to a friend's house. I'll be back later." He stepped around the couch then and approached her, raising his hand, making her wince.

"Don't you talk to me like that you ungrateful little bitch!" he shouted, raising it a bit higher. "Don't act like I can't ask you these questions. You better not be fucking around with some boy. You need to focus on your school work and get a good job so I don't have to do anything. You're lucky I let you do all that extracurricular crap!" he shouted. "And you better not turn out to be a whore like your mother who tried to leave. You're both my property, and she was lucky enough to get out the way she did." He snapped.

Finally, she blew up. "Lucky? She killed herself to get away from you, you asshole! And like hell I'm going to support you. The second I can, I'm leaving this hellhole!" she screamed, silenced by a smack across the face. She went wide eyed when she felt the sting and held her face in an attempt to soothe the pain.

"Get out." He said darkly. She spun around quickly and left before he could do anything more. She ran down the hall, and before she got to the steps she slumped against the wall, feeling her tears begin to stream down her face. She sniffed, and after a minute or so, tried to wipe her face clean so that the evidence wouldn't be noticeable. She looked up and froze, seeing Akito at the top of the stairs. She rubbed her face more quickly, plastering on a smile.

"Oh hi Akito, you're early." She said, trying to appear fine.

He looked at her face, which was still a bit red and puffy from her tears. "You have been crying. Why?" he asked, wanting to know what had upset her.

She shook her head, trying to brush it off. "Oh nothing, just stubbed my toe and it made my eyes water. It really hurt, but I'm alright."

Akito walked up to her, examining her face more closely. He knew she was lying, but he would not pry. After all, they didn't really know each other very well, and it wasn't really any of his business. "Hm. Come." He ordered, turning and heading towards the stairs. Today he was wearing a pair of black jeans that fit him very well, and a plain black t-shirt that had the Uchiha symbol on the back. She adjusted her bag and followed him down the steps, stopping when they were in the parking lot. She stared in awe at the motorcycle.

"This is what you drive?" she asked, walking up to it.

"Yes. I built it from scratch." He said, opening the compartment and holding out his hand for her backpack. She gave it to him and he put it away, pulling out his helmet, and another one for Natsumi to wear. "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle before?" he asked, holding out the spare helmet to her.

She shook her head, but truly smiled. It was much different than the one she had given him earlier. "I haven't, but I've always wanted to." She admitted, taking the helmet and examining it.

Akito smirked at her. "Good, then I shall be the one to show you the best time of your life." He said, picking up his helmet. He turned away from her and took off his glasses, placing his helmet on his head before she could see his face. He turned and looked at her, seeing that she still hadn't put her helmet on. "Well come on, we have things to do." He teased.

"Oh sorry," she laughed, moving her hair behind her ears and then putting it one and fastening it. "Ok, I'm ready." She nodded, since it was hard to speak with this on.

He placed his glasses in his pants pocket and got on his bike, patting the space behind him to indicate she do the same. She got on, making sure she was situated right and then wrapped her arms around his stomach. She was glad for the helmet, because a huge blush crept up her cheeks. He may not look like it, but she could feel his hardened muscles beneath his shirt. Trying not to be obvious about her touch and thoughts, she gripped tightly onto his shirt. She didn't really know what to do with her feet, until he grabbed her thighs and pulled them up before leaning forward once more.

Akito slowly backed out of the space and then looked back at her. "Whenever we turn a corner, lean with me." He instructed. She nodded, signifying she understood.

He faced forward and revved the engine, and before Natsumi knew what was going on, they were speeding down the busy streets of Tokyo. There was quite a bit of traffic, and so he weaved the bike in and out of all the cars.

After a while, they pulled into a rich neighborhood, with large, luxurious houses. Akito took them down a few streets, until they pulled into the driveway of a modern looking white house, with large, black, wooden double doors. He turned off the bike and took his helmet off, putting his glasses back on before turning to face her. "So, what did you think?" he asked, actually showing some emotion on both his face and in his voice. He couldn't help it, riding his bike made him feel really free, and he loved it.

She did the same, pulling off the helmet and laughed. "Wow! That was so amazing and fast!" she smiled brightly, not realizing that she still had her hands on his waist to steady herself on the bike. "That was really cool."

"I'm glad you liked it. Come, I will show you the house." He said, looking down at the hands placed on his waist.

She followed his gaze and removed her hands quickly, "Whoops. Sorry about that." She said earnestly and got off the bike, making sure her skirt didn't slide up. She stood then and offered him back his helmet. When he took it, he placed them both down on his bike and pulled out her bag.

Slinging it over his shoulder, he walked towards the front door and opened it, revealing a large home. It had a modern-urban look to it, and to the left there was a large staircase. "This way." He said, nodding his head towards the stairs. She followed him silently, she had never been to the Uchiha mansion before, and was absolutely blown away.

Akito took her up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. It was very large, but still simple. He had a king-sized bed to the left of his doorway, and across from it was his desk. It was made of glass, and took up the entire corner opposite of his bed. He had a balcony, and a bookcase filled to the brim with books. Hanging on the wall was an old samurai sword, in a glass display case.

She walked around the room, eyeing the things he had. She was especially intrigued with the sword. "Is that real?" she asked, pointing up at the blade.

"Yes. It's been passed down for generations in my family, and was willed to me by my father." He told her, setting her bag down on her bed.

"Wow," she marveled, turning back to face him. "Well ok. Should we get started? I don't think it'll take too long. Since you're really smart and it's only some light reading."

He walked over to his desk and picked up his laptop, setting it on the bed. "You're right. All we have to do is make a slideshow about Hiroshima, right?" he asked, turning it on as he got on his bed and sat down, kicking his shoes off in the process.

She sat down on his soft sheets and folded her legs under her, opening up their history book and setting it down once she found the right pages. She slipped out her own laptop and turned it on, "Do you want me to make the PowerPoint or do you want me to research some stuff on the internet for it?"

"I will look up information and pictures while you put it all on the PowerPoint if you want. Girls are usually better at designing things to look nice anyways," he said, picking up his textbook to use as well. She nodded and logged in, opening her power point program and started making the title slide, since they both already had some information in their notes.

There was no talking between them aside from the small needs of assurance, making sure the information was good and Natsumi asking if the slide was to his liking as well. It was nearing three in the afternoon now, and there was a small knock on the door. Natsumi blinked and glanced up from her work and then back over at Akito.

"Go away." He said without looking up.

Itachi poked his head in the room. "Now is that any way to talk to your favorite cousin?" he asked, a small smirk on his face.

"You are not my favorite cousin, Itachi. If you forget, we have many, and so my favorite would have to be one I have never met, because they cannot come and bother me. I told you not to come in here while Natsumi was over." He said, looking up from his work.

The eldest Uchiha came into the room then, stopping when he was in front of Natsumi. "I just wanted to come up and say hello to my favorite pink haired woman." He said.

She stared up at the eldest of the Uchiha, feeling a bit nervous. "Hello Itachi-sempai." she smiled, though she was a bit confused as to why she was his favorite. They hardly ever spoke except outside of gym.

"Hello there beautiful." He said, taking her hand in his and kissing it lightly. Akito frowned and reached over to grab Itachi's hand, disconnecting it from Natsumi.

"Okay, you said hi. Now get out." He ordered.

Itachi straightened and smirked down at him. "Temper, temper Akito. For someone who says this isn't a date, you're being a bit possessive." He scolded.

Natsumi blinked, feeling the hostility. "Date? Oh no, this isn't a date. We're just doing a project together. Akito and I are just friends." She paused and then looked over to him, smiling. "At least I think we're friends."

"We can be friends." He said, setting his laptop aside and rising. "Now get out. Why don't you go find your usual weekend hussy and go play with her?" he said, shoving Itachi towards his door.

"Akito, don't use such language in front of our dear guest. And I thought I told you not to tell lies." He said, frowning in order to keep up his act.

"Just get out. And don't come back." Akito ordered, pushing him out completely and shutting the door behind him. He leaned against the door to keep it shut, just in case Itachi tried to get back in. "Sorry about him." He said, coming back to the bed when he heard retreating footsteps.

She laughed softly, watching him come back. "That's ok. He's probably just bored, and messing with you is the only thing to pass the time." She shrugged and pulled her book in her lap, fingering through the pages. "So how do you like school so far?"

"I like it just fine. It's pretty similar to my old school." He said, typing a few things up on his computer. "Although, the group of guys sending bad juju my way is new." He chuckled.

"There is a group of bad guys sending you bad juju? Are they wiccans? Do they worship a voodoo god? They don't make those creepy lookalike dolls do they?" she rambled on, throwing question after question at him, freaking herself out. "Oh my God! Are they going to try and rip your heart out and eat it? Or sacrifice it to a vampire for favor in the eyes of the devil?" she said, going wide eyed.

Akito stared at her, and then began to laugh, something Natsumi had almost believed the young Uchiha was incapable of doing. She blushed a dark pink and picked up her book, hiding behind it in attempts to conceal her red face. But she had to admit, she liked the sound of his laughter and would try to make him do it again.

Finally getting control of himself, Akito looked over at her, the smile still on his face. "Natsumi, I was just using it as an expression. Nobody is trying to sacrifice me, make a voodoo doll of me, or anything of the like. They just don't like me very much for some reason."

She lowered her book and peeked at him from over the pages, feeling a smile of her own grace her features at the sight of his. She wished he would smile more. He looked so nice when he did. "But why wouldn't someone like you?" she asked, finally fully lowering the book. "I mean you do kind of look like if someone talks to you, you might hurt them. And have this dark aura around like you might bite someone's head off. But I think you could be really nice. Especially since your smile is so lovely." She said, lacing her fingers together happily.

His smile slowly left his face and he let out a small sigh. "There are many reasons why people wouldn't like me." Was all he said, his stoic façade slipping back into place as he continued his work.

Her smile fell as well, not really understanding why his was now gone. She sighed and picked her book up, reading silently to herself now. Was it something she said that made him all sad again? She didn't mean to. She let out another held in breath, copying some info she found onto their project.

It didn't take them long to finish, and once they were it was almost time for dinner. As they were shutting down their laptops, Akito looked at Natsumi. "Are you hungry?" he asked her.

She glanced up after putting all her things away and shook her head. "I wouldn't want to impose. I'm alright."

Akito rose from the bed. "You wouldn't be imposing. We can go out somewhere, since I have no wish to see Itachi again." He held his hand out to her. "What is your favorite place to eat?"

She shook her head vigorously, blushing a bit. "No, I didn't bring my wallet."

"Natsumi, you are my guest, and it is polite for the man to buy the meal. Don't worry about it." He assured her. "Now, where do you want to eat? If you don't answer I'll just take you to a random place." The corner of his mouth tilted up a bit.

"Uh ok." She said, looking down a bit nervously as she placed her hand in his. He helped her up and she smoothed out her skirt and her shirt. "Well you can just pick, I don't really go out all that much, so I don't really know what's good."

"Very well." He said, taking her bag from her and leading her out of his room. When they got to the door she stopped and rubbed the back of her head.

"Um can you hold on just a moment? I have to use the restroom." She asked, looking around for a facility.

"It's that door to the right." He said, pointing at it. "I'll meet you downstairs." He said, going down the steps. She nodded and headed to the bathroom. When she finished and walked out she nearly ran into Itachi. She gasped and pressed against the door, trying to still her racing heart.

"Oh sorry Itachi-sempai. I didn't mean to almost run into you."

Itachi smiled down at her and placed his right hand on the door, leaning closer to her. "It is fine, dearest flower." He murmured, tilting his head slightly.

She laughed a bit awkwardly and tried to slide along the wall in attempts to escape this close proximity. It wasn't that Itachi wasn't absolutely gorgeous, because he was, but she didn't know him well enough to be comfortable with having him in her personal space. His other hand pressed against the wall on the other side of her head, keeping her between his arms. She blinked and looked up at him and shrunk a bit. "Um…can I help you with something?"

"Well yes, actually, you can." He said, beginning to lower his head. That is, until they were no longer alone.

"Itachi." Akito said, his arms crossed and a harsh glare on his face. The eldest Uchiha straightened, lowering his arms.

"What is it, little Kito-kun?" he asked mockingly. "Natsumi-chan and I were just having a little chat, if you don't mind." He said.

"I'm sure you were." Akito said. Then he walked over and took Natsumi's hand in his, pulling her away from Itachi. "Now if _you_ don't mind, Natsumi and I were going to go grab something to eat."

"Now why would I mind that? Besides the fact that you're denying me such pleasant company. But alas, I do have a few things to attend to." He said, walking off and to his room.

Akito looked at Natsumi. "Was he bothering you?" he asked, concern marring his brow.

She glanced up at him, from staring after the elder. Had he just tried to kiss her? She shook her head and gave him a smile. "No, it's ok. He was just…in my bubble a bit. But I did almost run into him. So it might have been my fault."

"No it isn't. Now let's go, I'm hungry." He said, leading her down the steps and out of the house, her hand still in his. They walked over to his bike and he handed her the spare helmet to put on while he placed her bag in his 'trunk'. She looked at her reflection in the eye cover.

"I'm pretty sure he was trying to kiss me." She said. Something in the pit of her stomach just told her she was right and that she should tell him. After all, he had witnessed it and would be able to tell her otherwise.

He looked over at her, holding his helmet in his hands. "He was. If he tries to do it again, slap him." He told her.

"I can't slap him." She went wide eyed, looking at him as if he had just spoken blasphemy.

"Why not?" he asked, confused. "It's not like he doesn't deserve it."

She still looked horrified, "Yeah but…he's older than me. And…I just can't, I'm not supposed to."

"But I just gave you permission." He said, looking down at her.

"Yeah but…" she started again, shaking her head.

He sighed. "Fine. If he tries to do it again just tell me, and I'll punch him. Problem solved." He said, turning from her in order to take his glasses off and put on his helmet.

She nodded, "Ok." She fixed her hair a bit and put the helmet on. Once he was back on his bike, she got on and wrapped her arms around his waist once more. He backed out of the driveway, and then they were zipping through the city.

They pulled into the parking lot of a nice looking establishment, and after he turned off his bike and removed his helmet, he looked back at her. "Have you ever eaten at Olive Garden before?" he asked once his glasses were back in place.

She pulled off her helmet as well and shook out her hair. "Nope. Is it good?" she asked, staring up at him.

"The best. If you like Italian food that is." He said, taking her inside the restaurant. "Table for two please." He told the hostess, who, recognizing him as an Uchiha, immediately showed them to a booth.

"Your waitress will be here shortly." She said, walking away.

"Ok, ok." She hummed, picking up the menu and reading through its contents. "So, how come you live with your cousins? Did your parents just not want to move?"

"They died when I was young." He said softly, scanning his menu.

She went wide eyed and her grip on the menu tightened. "I am so sorry. Please forgive my insatiable questions. I should just shut up." She shut her eyes and looked down at her lap.

He looked up at her. "Natsumi, it's okay, I am not upset. I barely even remember them." He said, setting down his menu. She stayed quiet though, trying to find something in the menu and when she finally decided she set it down.

Their waitress came then. "Hello, my name is Eri. What can I get you two to drink?" she asked, looking between them.

"Actually, I believe we are both ready to order." Akito said, looking at Natsumi just to be sure. She nodded and when Akito didn't say anything, she looked to the waitress.

"Um can I get a Dr. Pepper? Then a chicken ceasar salad, with lots of black olives and croutons please." The waitress nodded and then looked at Akito.

"I would like a water and the shrimp and crab ravioli." He said. She nodded and walked away, off to get their drinks.

Akito looked at Natsumi then. "So tell me, why are you in every single club at the school? Is it so that you can get into a good university, or just because you're a busybody?" he asked, curious.

She tapped the table nervously and looked off, "I, um, don't like to go home. That's all."

"Why?" he asked, wanting to keep her talking. Seeing her reaction to his question, he spoke up again. "Nevermind, it is none of my business. Forgive me." He said as their drinks were set before them.

Natsumi reached forward and took a sip of hers, looking up at him. "It's ok." She said simply, going silent once more. It wasn't like before. This was uncomfortable, so she tried to make conversation. Though with her mind where it was, it wasn't a happy topic. "My mom is no longer alive as well."

Surprise flashed through his eyes, but he covered it quickly. He hadn't really expected her to say something like that. "I'm sorry to hear that." He said, his mind whirring with possibilities. If her mother was dead, and she didn't like to go home, then the only logical answer was that she lived with her father, and he was the cause of her tears from before. But he wouldn't say anything about it, not yet at least.

"Oh it's alright," she sighed, leaning back. "It was what she wanted. So I'm glad she's happy now. I just hope she's in heaven and not suffering anymore." She glanced up at him finally and gave him a small, sad smile to show it was really okay.

"I don't know where my parents are. They were killed by a drunk driver." He said, and then grew quiet as their food was placed in front of them. The corner of his mouth tilted up as he looked across the table at her. "Wow, we're pretty depressing." He said in an attempt to get her to smile.

She laughed and nodded, "Though I can still beat that I think." She gave him a look, but then started eating her salad.

He began to eat as well, and halfway through their meal, looked back up at her. "So, you like to read. For fun." He said, making an observation.

"Mhm. I love to read, mostly fantasy. Because I think real life is so boring. Especially those god awful stories about teenagers and their drama. Who cares? Right?" She laughed, seeming to brighten up again.

"Interesting. What else do you do for fun?" he asked.

"Everything I do after school is fun. I really like cheerleading and it keeps me in top shape. But I think track is my favorite, since I just love to go really fast. And I feel uncatchable when I run." She smiled, thinking about the thrill, which was probably why she liked riding with him on his motorcycle.

He nodded. "Interesting. Me as well. I do track because I feel free when I'm running, like I have no cares in the world."

"We should race sometime." She said, actually looking excited. "Should be fun."

"Perhaps." He said, smirking at her. She was really pretty when she smiled, he thought to himself. And she had actually gotten him to laugh. Maybe, they actually could be friends. By then they had finished their dinner, and Akito decided to order dessert. Something called Zepoli. When it was brought out, Natsumi nearly bounced in her seat, taking one of the fluffy fried treats and dipped it in the chocolate sauce. Her eyes went wide and she had to cover her mouth so he wouldn't see the food.

"This is really good! It's like a chocolate toaster stroodle."

He smiled at her. "I thought you would like it." He said, dipping one of them in the chocolate sauce and taking a bite.

"It's really hot though," she said, fanning her mouth since she had just popped most of it in her mouth.

He just nodded, and they finished eating the sweet dessert. Placing down some bills to pay for their meal, Akito rose and held out his hand to her, which she took gratefully. "I should probably take you home now, since it is nearing nine." He said.

Her face fell and she sighed, nodding. "Yeah, probably."

He drove her back to her apartment building, and walked her up the stairs. When they reached the door to her apartment, he took out a sheet of paper and held it out to her. Meeting her inquisitive gaze, the corner of his mouth tilted up slightly. "Whenever you don't want to be at your house, or just want to get away, call me, and I will come save you." He told her.

She glanced down at the numbers scribbled on the paper and then back up at him, searching his gaze through the lens. She really wished he would take those glasses off so she could see his eyes. She hugged him quickly, pressing herself against him. "Thank you," she whispered, shutting her eyes tightly. Finally she looked up at him and smiled. "You're a really good friend Akito."

He returned her embrace, getting over his initial shock. "Well, I've never really been friends with a girl before, but I'm glad I seem to be doing things right." He said. "But you're welcome."

She pulled away then and took her bag when he offered it. "I'm glad we could become friends. And thanks again for helping with the project. It turned out really nice. I think we might get an A."

"Of course we will. I never get anything less." He told her. Both of their heads whipped to the doorway as it angrily swung open, revealing an angry looking blonde man to Akito.

"Who the fuck are you?" he snapped, glaring at Akito.

Natsumi just went wide eyed and stark white. "Dad!"

Unfazed, Akito bowed politely to him. "Uchiha Akito sir. I am a classmate of Natsumi's." he said as his suspicions were confirmed.

"I knew you were fucking around with some boy." He spat out to Natsumi.

"Dad, we're not doing…_that_, we were working on a school project. Like I told you." She glared at him, until he glared at her and ordered her inside. When she didn't move, he grabbed her arm and forced her.

"If you're going to waste time then you can do it here." He said, gripping her tightly and making her wince. "And don't you come back here punk." He spat, slamming the door in his face and locking it.

As Akito walked down the stairs and towards his bike, he swore to himself that he would help get Natsumi out of that hellhole, no matter what it cost.


	4. Rumors

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Four_

-Rumors-

Natsumi looked around the halls as she walked with her cousin Sakura. She couldn't help but notice everyone they passed did a double take on her and then started whispering to the person next to them. Her brow furrowed in confusion. What the heck was going on? "Sakura…" she glanced over to her family and best friend, "I really don't mean to sound conceited or anything, but are people staring at me and then talking amongst themselves?"

The other pink haired girl looked around, trying to see for herself. And to her surprise, it seemed that as they passed, people began talking and whispering. "Well that's weird. I wonder what's up?" she frowned, looking to Natsumi.

"Is there something on my face? Or in my hair?"

Sakura shook her head as she gave her a once over. "No, now that I think about it, this has been going on all week."

"Really?" she gasped. "All week?"

She nodded and they both walked into class, hearing them all go silent. "…O…k…" Natsumi fidgeted a bit and then went to go take her seat.

"Let me go and ask Ino what's going on. She'll know." Sakura said, walking over to talk to her best friend. Just then Akito entered, and everyone stared at him, then Natsumi, and then began to whisper. He took his seat next to Natsumi and sighed, taking out his textbook. Gossip was nothing new to the youngest Uchiha, but it still annoyed him.

Sakura came back to Natsumi and leaned close to her ear. "Apparently, some kid in the freshman class saw you and Akito on your date at Olive Garden last Saturday, and now the whole school thinks you're an item." She whispered.

"WHAT?" Natsumi nearly screamed, standing up and going wide eyed.

Akito looked up at her. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, his tone sounding bored.

She ran her fingers through her hair and grabbed her locks trying to calm herself down. This was terrible. She and Akito were just friends, nothing more. She sat back down and groaned, trying not to be overly emotional about the whole ordeal. But she had just started her period for the month, and she really couldn't deal with this stress right now. God she hated rumors, and right now she really just wanted to cry. She leaned forward and rested her head on the table, growling.

Toshiro watched the girl and then cleared his throat, getting his friend's attention. "Dude," he glared when Akito turned around. "You are such a liar. You totally went on a date with her this weekend. I thought we were straight. Why didn't you tell me?"

Akito's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? We just went to dinner because I didn't want to be around Itachi while he was horny. We're just friends." He said.

"Uh that's not what I heard. Ino said that Kiki said, that Yvonne heard from Tamaki that you two were giving each other the googly eyes and playing footsy under the table and that you practically made out in the parking lot."

Akito grimaced, growing a bit angry. "I'm very worried about how information travels around this school."

"What do you mean?" Toshiro asked, still seeming a bit peeved.

"That everything you have heard is false. We went to dinner, talked about death, and I took her home. That's it really. There were no googly eyes, footsies, or making out. If there was, you would have been the first to know. Okay?" he asked, somewhat frustrated.

Toshiro sighed and propped up his hand, resting his chin in his palm. "Well everyone thinks you're dating. And everyone wants to know why she's going out with you. Though, I'm sure if you lost those lamo glasses people would see why."

"We _aren't_ dating, so it doesn't matter anyways." Akito snapped.

"Ok, ok." The redhead held up his hands in defense. "Got it, I'll spread the word."

It was then that Kiba spoke up, with a huge grin plastered on his face. "Hey Akito, Natsumi. I heard you got it on in the restaurant bathroom and that all the customers could hear your pretty little screams."

Natsumi's head shot up and she glared back at the brunette, unable to hide the embarrassed blush. "You wanna die Inuzuka? Huh? Because we can take this outside _right_ now. I will kick your ass so hard, you'll shit sideways!" she slammed her fist on the black table, making everyone go wide eyed at this new side of Natsumi.

Akito placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look at him. "Don't pay any attention to him, he's an idiot." He said, and then looked over at the brunette. "Besides, if I were ever to 'get it on' with Natsumi, it would not be in a place as filthy as a restaurant bathroom. You and your girlfriend might find that sort of thing acceptable, but Natsumi and I have class, and so would use the comfort of a bed. You know, those things people sleep on?" he said, raising a haughty brow.

Absolutely everyone was wide eyed, even Natsumi. She didn't really think Akito even knew how to speak that much at one time. Naruto shook his head and breathed out. "Daaaaaaaamn."

Kakashi walked into the classroom then, and looked up from his orange book in slight surprise. "Why is everyone so quiet? Usually you're all talking." He said, looking around at his students.

Naruto stood up. "Kakashi-sensei, Akito totally just told Kiba off!" he said, pointing up at the ebony haired boy.

"Sorry I missed it. Was it good?" he asked, honestly wanting to know.

"Pretty priceless." Gaara said with a dark smirk, glancing at his friend who was still shell shocked from the blow.

"Darn. Oh well." He sighed, sitting down behind his desk.

Minako raised her hand, waiting for Kakashi to call her. He nodded, signaling she could speak. The dark haired girl rose from her seat and stood in front of the class. "I just wanted to announce that there will be a school dance next Friday, here in the gym. The theme is Summer in Winter, and will be open to every grade." She told them. "Oh, and it's a Sadie Hawkins dance, so the girls must ask the guys."

"That's a stupid theme." Ino rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair.

The ebony haired girl glared over at the blonde. "What did you just say Yamanaka?" she asked, her voice low.

Ino went a bit wide eyed and shrank back. "Um, nothing." She glanced off then, unable to meet her piercing blue gaze.

"I thought so." She looked back at her classmates. "Any questions?" she asked, smiling at them.

Gaara raised his hand and when she pointed to him he sighed, "It's not about the dance. But for the rumor. So it's not true, is that right?" he asked, looking towards the front at Akito and Natsumi with an impassive gaze.

Akito looked back at him. "No, it's not true. We're just friends." He said.

He nodded and relaxed back in his seat. "Good to know. I'll be sure to silence any more I hear and spread the word."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Isn't that what all secret couples are? 'Just friends'." She said, doing the air quotes as well.

"Uh no dip wad." Natsumi snapped actually. Even though Ino was her friend, she was really starting to piss her off. "Because we really are only friends. We were working on our history project and then went and ate. Then I went home. End of story."

Minako cleared her throat, regaining everyone's attention. "Back to the dance. You can pick up a flier with all the needed information on it in the cafeteria. Ticket sales begin next Wednesday, before and after school, as well as during lunch in the cafeteria." She finished. "Now are there any questions about the dance?"

When no one spoke up, she took her seat once more and Kakashi 'started' class. Time seemed to creep by slowly, but the bell finally rang and released them to their next class. Before long, it was lunch time and Natsumi made it up to her usual spot on the roof. She glanced around and when she didn't see Akito, she assumed he was eating with Toshiro, something he had started doing more recently. She sat down and leaned against the wall, unbuttoning a few of the top buttons to her shirt and rubbing the sore bruised skin. She sighed and grabbed the bag of ice she had gotten from the nurse and pressed it against her chest.

Akito came out onto the roof a few minutes later, his gaze immediately going to the bag of ice. "What happened?" he asked, walking over to her and setting his stuff down. She went wide eyed and hid the ice behind her, even though he had already seen it and tried to button up her shirt.

"Nothing happened." She lied.

He reached out and stopped her hands, squatting as he moved aside her shirt and saw the bruising. His gaze hardened, and he looked up at her face. "Did he hit you?" he asked harshly.

"No he didn't hit me." She said all too quickly. "Why would my own dad hit me? I fell, that's all. In cheerleading."

"Natsumi, I'm not stupid. If you had fallen during practice, the entire school would know, since you are the captain of the cheerleaders, and the most graceful. As such, you forget that I met your father, and saw the way he treated you. I will not push the matter any longer, since you obviously don't wish to discuss it, but I gave you my cell number for a reason." He told her, letting go of her shirt and taking his seat next to her.

She buttoned up the few buttons and stared off, biting into an apple. "What am I supposed to do? Just leave? He's my dad and I'm not a coward."

"Leaving would not make you a coward." He said, pulling out his usual bento and beginning to eat it. "If he hits you again, I want you to tell me."

She frowned. "If anything worse happens, I'll call you." She corrected.

He sighed, knowing that was the best he was going to get from her on the matter. "Why did he do it?" he asked softly.

"I forgot to get up and make him breakfast."

"That is so stupid." He said, and then looked at her. "When is your birthday?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.

She looked back at him. "October twenty-seventh. A little less than two weeks."

"Are you turning seventeen, or eighteen?"

"Seventeen." She smiled a bit. "So close."

"When you turn eighteen, you will move in with me and away from him. Then he cannot have a say in the matter." Akito decided with a nod, returning to his lunch.

She actually laughed and gave him a sad smile. "Wouldn't that be kind of inappropriate? Especially given the rumors that are floating around?"

"Who cares?" he said with a shrug. "People can talk all they want, doesn't matter as long as we know the truth. Besides, I doubt Sakura's family would be able to fit you in with them." He glanced up at her. "Unless, you would rather me get you your own apartment somewhere close by to my house, that way your dad won't be able to find you easily, and I can keep an eye on you."

Natsumi couldn't stop giggling, giving him an endearing look. "You're very protective of me. It makes me feel very special, I'm glad that we could get to be such good friends." She smiled brightly, seeming happy once more.

Akito huffed. "You make me sound like I'm a nice person." He complained, putting on a fake pout.

"Oh sorry, sorry." She feigned an apology. "I forget you like your mean image."

"I do." He nodded. "Men are all about their images you know." He smiled slightly at her.

"And yet you don't care about rumors?" she asked, arching a delicate brow.

His smile turned to a smirk. "Hey, if the school wants to think I'm dating the hottest girl on campus, then they can be my guest. Besides, as an Uchiha, you grow up dealing with the rumor mill, so I've learned to ignore it for the most part." He told her, putting away his now finished lunch.

She shook her head, but leaned back and stared up at the sky. "So…this dance thing…" she began. She kind of wanted to go, and since it was a Sadie Hawkins, she could ask him right? They were friends after all, and she knew she would have fun with him. "Are you going to go?"

"No, I don't really like dances. They're extremely boring." He said, laying his head back on the railing lining the roof.

She tried not to show her disappointment, knowing he would give in if he saw it, and that wasn't what she wanted. "So, not even if it was with me?" She asked, playing it off like it was no big deal. "I was kinda interested in it, but I dunno." She shrugged.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, all there really is to do is dance, and that just seems mundane. If I wanted to be surrounded by a bunch of sweaty teenagers, listening to loud music, then I'd just go to a club. At least there I don't have to wear a tux."

"True." She nodded, noticing the time. "Oh God. We have to get to class." She tossed her things in her bag and leaned forward quickly in order to get up, hitting her knee on her chest. She winced and groaned, rubbing the sore spot once more.

Akito picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, grabbing her hand and helping her up as he rose. They walked to class together, entering at the same time. Naruto gave them both a speculative look. "You know, for two people who are just friends, you sure do spend a lot of time together." The blonde said, rubbing his chin.

"And you spend a lot of time with Sasuke, but you don't see me accusing you two of being gay lovers. Although, it would make sense." Akito quipped, taking his seat next to Natsumi.

Naruto crossed his arms in a pout. "I don't like your family Sasuke." He said.

"Neither do I." the other Uchiha said, resting his head in his hand.

Gaara simply shrugged. "They act like friends to me." He sighed.

Toshiro just leaned forward and tried to strangle his Uchiha. "Hey! Where were you? You keep ditching me for lunch to hang out with your friend that's a lady!" he huffed, and then looked over at Natsumi. "No offense." He smiled.

"None taken." She smiled back.

"But come on man! I know she's funny and almost too innocent to resist like Minako, but come on! Bros, man. Bros!" he demanded, shaking him.

Akito hit his hands off of him, turning to look at his friend. "I'll have lunch with you tomorrow, okay?" he asked, trying to placate him.

Toshiro nodded. "I'll hold you too it." Feeling someone's gaze, he looked to his right, where Minako was sitting, with a light blush covering her cheeks. "What?" he asked, a bit oblivious.

"Do you really think I'm too innocent to resist Shiro-kun?" she asked softly, becoming slightly embarrassed.

Toshiro went wide eyed and noticed every other eye was on him as well. "Uh no…I was just stating a fact. That's all." He quickly recovered, looking off.

"That is true." Gaara nodded, crossing his arms and letting out a deep sigh.

Sakura turned around in her seat to look at the stoic redhead. "Hey Gaara, do you think today after school you could help me with the math homework? I don't really understand it, but I need to make an A on the upcoming test."

"Mhm." He nodded, twirling one of his pencils in his hand. "Sure thing Sakura. We can go to my house if you want." He offered and then froze. "Actually, let's just go out for some coffee."

She gave him a bright smile. "Sounds great! I have to go to a short meeting for the Cooking Club after school, but it shouldn't be more than five minutes or so, since I'm the president. So I'll just meet you out front, if that's okay?"

"Perfect." He said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Alright. Thanks a bunch." She said before turning back around, since Kurenai had entered. Class began, and when it was over, everyone headed to gym, where the game of the day was extreme relay races. As they were changing in the locker room, Sakura looked over at her cousin.

"So Natsumi, are you going to ask anyone to the dance?"

She returned the glance as she was unbuttoning her shirt and sighed. "Well I kind of asked Akito, but he said if he wanted to be surrounded by sweaty teenagers and loud music, he might as well go to a club. So I don't think I'll go." She shrugged and pulled off her shirt and tie. She grabbed her black gym shirt and pulled it on, but not before Sakura caught a glimpse of the large purple bruise. "What about you Sakura? You want to go with anyone?"

"I don't know. I don't really have time to go to a dance. What with Clinical in the mornings, Cooking Club, not to mention that math test. I don't know why but I just can't seem to get a hold on what we're learning. And I have to get all A's if I'm going to get into medical school." She said, pulling on her gym shirt. "But…I suppose it would be nice to go to a dance sometime. Though, I can't really see who would want to go with me." She sighed. Compared to Natsumi, who had many male admirers, she just felt like she couldn't compete. Better to not ask anyone at all then to do so and be rejected. This way she would save herself the humiliation.

Natsumi smiled at her and placed her hands on both of Sakura's shoulders when they were both dressed. "I think you should go Sakura. Maybe if you have fun, your mind will loosen up and you can get a firm grasp on what you don't get in math."

She returned her cousin's smile. "Perhaps. We'll just have to see." She said. Then she noticed that they were alone. "Natsumi, why didn't you tell me things were getting worse? My parents could take him to court, we could get custody of you, something." She said, placing her hand on her cousin's shoulder.

Natsumi's face fell, did she really have to relive this twice in the same day? "It's not getting worse. It's the same, and you know we've already tried that Sakura. It's just one more year. I can last until then." She smiled sadly.

Sakura hugged her cousin, being careful not to hurt the bruises. "I know, I just worry. You know how I get." She said, rubbing the other girl's back in a comforting manner. "I still think you are one of the strongest people I know." She told her.

"How can I be strong if I cry all the time and run away from my problems?" she asked, hugging her back tightly.

"Because you always go back to that jerk of a dad, and come to school with a bright smile on your face." Sakura replied.

She shook her head, but decided not to continue. "Come on. Let's go before people start getting worried." She offered Sakura her hand and led her out onto the gym floor. They were stopped when Sasori stood in front of them, giving them both a charming smile.

"Hello ladies."

"Hi Sasori." Natsumi smiled, but kept a close eye on him. After his groping attempt, she made sure to stay out of arms reach.

Sakura nodded, smiling as well. "Hey Sasori." She greeted.

"So Sakura, I was wondering if I could get a word with you. If that's alright Natsumi." He gave her another knock out look, making her almost trust him.

"I suppose." She said with a bit of hesitation and then waved to her cousin before leaving her to join their other friends.

When she was finally out of ear shot, Sasori focused down on Sakura, stepping closer. "You know Sakura, I've always thought you were so pretty."

A light blush came to her cheeks at that. "Well…thank you. I guess." She said, not sure what else there was to say. No boy had ever said anything like that to her before, and she was really flattered.

"I was just wondering," he paused, trying to appear nervous. "I know that it's a Sadie Hawkins dance, but I would really like it if you went with me. You know, as my date."

She blinked, her blush darkening. "You…want me to be your date?" she asked, slightly in awe. There was just no way he could be serious. Why would he, an attractive senior, want to go with her, a junior, whose cousin was way prettier than she was. It just didn't make sense.

"Yes," he said simply. He leaned forward, placing his finger under her chin and tilting her head up a bit. "If I had any less courage I would have gone second rate and asked your cousin. But I want the best." He spoke slowly, almost like his voice was velvet. And of course, he was telling her everything she wanted to hear.

Her face was crimson now, and for a minute she was speechless. "W-well…I…I…" she stuttered, and for a second, Sasori was sure he had her. Until a flash of red caught her eye and she saw Gaara in her peripheral vision. Remembering their study meeting scheduled later that day, she found her voice. "I'm really flattered Sasori, but I can't." she said, stepping away from him so that he was no longer touching her. "I have too much schoolwork to do, tests to study for. I just don't have the time. I'm sorry." She said, giving him an apologetic look.

He feigned hurt and gave her a pleading look. "But Sakura, too much work and no play can cause the mind to snap. You should allow me to give you a wonderful night and then you can get back to your studies. Not that you need it, though. You're already so smart."

"I really am sorry, but I'm sure you can find someone else to go with. After all, I know of tons of girls who would be happy to go as your date." She told him, trying to smooth things over. After all, she didn't really like to hurt people's feelings, or make them upset.

Sasori just gave her a friendly smile. "Oh my dear, sweet Sakura. You are the only one I wish to go with." He said, walking past her then. "If you change your mind, I would love to go with you."

She watched him walk away, and then let out a sigh. It would have been nice to go with Sasori, but she didn't really know him all that well. She walked over to where her friends were gathered, her expression still slightly dazed.

"What's up Sakura?" Ino asked, noticing her friend's demeanor. Natsumi glanced over as well, growing a bit curious.

"Sasori just asked me to be his date to the dance." She said, still not fully believing it.

Both girls went wide eyed, different expressions on their face. "What did you say?" they asked together.

Her gaze focused on them. "Well, I said no."

"Why?" Ino shrieked, looking horrified. "He's a super hot senior and _super_ yummy!"

"I can't afford to have any distractions this year. Universities look at what grades you get junior year, and I want to get into the best medical school that's provided." She told them, trying to explain her reasoning to them.

"But it'll be fun, and you've been so busy. You're going to go crazy!"

She blinked. "I'm going to have coffee with Gaara later. That should be fun."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're having coffee to study. For the only class you hate. That's _real_ fun."

Sakura crossed her arms. "So." She looked at her cousin then, since the other girl had been silent since she had announced it. "Natsumi, what do you think?" she asked, wanting her opinion.

"Well…" she shrugged. "I dunno, I think you should go and have fun. But Sasori is pretty…crafty." She said, not really knowing the right word for him.

"True. Maybe it's best I don't go." She said. Gai whistled then, getting everyone's attention so that they could start class. And all the while Sakura was distracted, still thinking about what Sasori had said to her. Was she wrong in turning him down? Only time would tell.


	5. Attempts

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Five_

-Attempts-

Sakura placed her head in her hand, listening to Kakashi try to explain the process of photosynthesis. She already knew about it, since she'd read the chapter last night, but a part of her was still paying attention. It had been two days since Sasori had asked her to go to the dance with him, and since then, nobody else had asked her, and she hadn't asked anyone either. But for some reason she was still feeling doubts about saying no.

There was a knock on the door, and Shizune entered, carrying a vase filled with a dozen red roses. "Hey Kakashi. I have a delivery here for Sakura." She said, setting them on the pink haired girl's desk. Gaara sat up a bit, watching the red flowers closely.

"Oh ho, seems Sakura here has an admirer. Go ahead Sakura, read us the card and tell us who it is." The silver haired man asked, completely forgetting the lesson in lieu of finding out who liked one of his prized students.

Shizune rolled her eyes and left, since she already knew who had sent the lovely arrangement. Sakura reach forward and pulled out the card that was attached to the front of the vase, opening it and scanning the words.

"Every petal on these flowers symbolizes a moment I wished you would be mine for just one night. I still hope you change your mind about next Friday. Your sweet admirer, Sasori." Sakura read, her eyes widening at the words. She looked back up at the flowers and then to the note, then back up.

"Wow." She said breathlessly, not really sure what else to say.

Gaara just grimaced, the pencil in his hand snapping from his fury. Sasori was going to die for this. Natsumi glanced back at the redhead and then to Sakura, a small frown appearing on her face. "I think you should burn those Sakura." Toshiro said, crossing his arms.

She looked over at him and frowned. "I will not." She said, pulling them towards the other side of her desk in a defensive manner. "Nobody's ever given me flowers before, and I think they're pretty."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, not bothering to argue with her. Besides, Sakura would just take it the wrong way if he told her Sasori was just trying to get her in the sack. "They do look very lovely Sakura-chan. I wish I could be sent flowers." Minako sighed, quickly glancing at Toshiro and then looking down at her desk.

"I think they're pretty too Sakura-chan!" Naruto called from his seat, giving her a toothy grin.

"Thank you." She said, crossing her legs and looking back at Kakashi. "You may continue with the lesson Sensei." She said, and Kakashi did just that, while Sakura's mind whirred with the possibilities. She would say yes to Sasori, today in gym. After all, he made her feel like she wasn't second rate to Natsumi, and he had even gone so far as to send her flowers. It was just so sweet, she couldn't help but to feel extremely flattered.

Finally class ended and the morning seemed to fly by. Natsumi headed up the steps to the roof, ready to read with her brand new book. She pushed open the door and went a bit wide eyed, "Itachi?" she blinked. "What are you doing up here?"

He pushed away from the railing and walked up to her. "I heard you usually eat lunch up here with Akito. But since he's going to be at lunch with Toshiro, I figured I'd come up here and keep you company." He said.

She blushed a bit, but it felt somewhat invasive. Since this was always where she and Akito spent their time together. "That's not really necessary." She smiled, laughing softly. "I would hate to keep you up here when you usually have lunch with your friends."

He waved it off. "They can survive without me for a while. Besides, I wanted to ask you a question."

"Oh? Ok, go for it." She said, walking over to her usual spot and setting her things down.

He followed her, but made sure not to invade her space. "I would be honored if you would go to the dance with me. I know it's Sadie Hawkins and everything, but I am more traditional in such things, and figured I should ask you before someone caught your eye."

Her eyes widened a fraction, did Uchiha Itachi really just ask her to go to a dance with him? She had assumed all the Uchihas were skeptical about those things, since neither Sasuke nor Itachi ever went to one before, and Akito had said no as well. "Are you sure?" she asked, poking her fingers together nervously.

"I have never been surer of anything in my life." He said, pulling his bag forward so that he could reach into it. "In fact, I drew this for you." He said, pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to her. It was a picture done in colored pencils of her smiling, wearing her cheerleading uniform. She looked really happy.

"Oh wow!" Natsumi gasped, taking the paper and admiring his work. It was really, really good. But then again, everyone knew how amazing of an artist he was. She smiled up at him, "Yes. I would like to. I think it will be fun." She said happily, thinking, what the heck? Akito had said no anyways, and now she could go with Sakura, and they would both have super-hot dates.

He smirked down at her. "Oh, it will be tons of fun. Do not worry about the tickets, I will handle them. And I'll get your address from Akito and pick you up about an hour and a half before the dance starts, so that we can go to dinner with Sasori and Sakura. How does that sound?" he asked her, already knowing that she was going to say yes. And what girl wouldn't? He was offering her a dream date, a night that sounded so familiar to what Prom was. And she would be treated as a princess the entire night.

"Sure," she said, nodding. "It sounds wonderful. I cannot wait. Sakura and I will go dress shopping this weekend."

"Good." He said, the corner of his mouth tilting up a bit. "Well, I must be going, sadly. Since I am the president of the art club and all, I actually have to attend the meetings." He made a face of dislike.

She shrugged. "I understand." She laughed, waving off the matter. "After all I am the cheerleading captain and the captain of the track team. Not to mention the chess club. So I know how it is. It's hard to find a good balance."

"Exactly." He took her hand and kissed the back of it, giving her a smoldering look. "Until gym class, then." He said, before straightening and walking towards the door.

She watched him leave, and when she was finally alone giggled aloud to herself. She was so excited, Itachi was one of the most sought after seniors, and he seemed to be really nice. Plus he hadn't invaded her space like he had the last time. Maybe he was just a forward person, and she was just self-conscious about it.

Later in the locker room, she told Sakura the news. "Oh my gosh! This is so exciting!" the other pink haired woman exclaimed, before the two of them squealed in glee and started jumping up and down. When they stopped, both wore huge, similar smiles. "I'm so happy I decided to go, although I haven't told Sasori that I changed my mind yet, since I haven't seen him." She said.

"Well you will see him in a few minutes so it should all be perfect. This is going to be so fun! We should go shopping on Saturday for dresses." She clapped her hands together happily. "You know, since next week we have rounds in the hospital Monday through Wednesday."

Sakura's smile fell slightly. "I wish I could go, but Mom and Dad grounded me because of my test score in math." She said solemnly.

"I thought Gaara was tutoring you." Natsumi frowned.

She sighed. "He is, but apparently an eighty-seven isn't good enough." She said. "You know how they are about grades though, and since in the medical field math is a requirement, they want me to do even better than that."

"Yeah but it's still a B plus, and they don't have to ground you for it." The two let out a deep breath. "Oh well, Saturday is the only day I can go. But I'll show you my dress when I get home."

"Okay, that way I have an idea on what to get. I don't really know if in these situations a long or short dress would be better." She admitted with an embarrassed laugh, scratching the back of her head.

Natsumi placed and hand on her cousin's shoulder as they walked out. "Definitely medium to short, since it isn't so formal like Prom. Plus the theme is Summer in Winter, so I think I'm going to get a white dress."

"Hm, I'm thinking maybe I'll get a red dress. I'll probably just go after school sometime when I don't have any activities. Or I might be able to convince my mom to take me, especially when she finds out I'm going with a senior." She smiled slightly, reaching up to tie her hair back, as she always did for this class. Part of it was to keep it out of the way, and another was to differentiate herself from her cousin. Sometimes she just thought they were too similar.

She nodded and gave Sakura a nudge towards Sasori and winked. "Go on and capture your date my lovely cherry blossom." She snickered, running off to join their friends, attacking Akito with a hug since she hadn't gotten to all day.

Sakura walked over to the redhead, her face slowly becoming pink. "Hi Sasori." She greeted.

Sasori and Itachi both turned around, since they were always together, they would both get to enjoy the show. "Hello my dearest little Sakura, how are you today? Had second thoughts about my proposal yet?" he asked, giving her a warming smile.

She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled sweetly at him. "Well after receiving such a lovely bouquet of roses, how could a girl say no?" she asked.

"My hopes exactly." He pointed out with a laugh.

Sakura laughed as well. "I would love to go to the dance with you." She told him.

"Fantastic! Oh Sakura, you have made me so very happy." He said, taking her hands and kissing both tenderly.

She blushed darkly, having never received such attention, especially from someone so nice looking. "I'm glad."

He brought her a bit closer and smirked, "Be sure to show me the color of your dress so I can match to it. An escort must be tied to his lady after all."

"It's going to be red, so already you'll match, because of your hair." She joked, unable wipe the smile from her face or the blush from her cheeks. He laughed with her and they started talking about the plan and how they would simply double with Itachi and Natsumi.

Though, over in their group of friends, Gaara was glaring murderously at his brother. He was going to die, he couldn't believe this. He had been trying so hard to be with Sakura as much as she would allow, and that arrogant asshole just came in and picked his tended fruit. Toshiro just pat his shoulder and sighed, glancing back at Natsumi, who was telling Akito about how to play the game they were going to be doing in gym today. He wondered if his best friend even knew about the news of Itachi asking Natsumi to the dance.

"So does that make sense?" Natsumi smiled, offering him the basketball.

He took it from her and dribbled it a bit. "Yes, it seems simple enough." He said, returning her smile. It fell off his face though, when Itachi came up behind Natsumi and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him.

"I missed you." He murmured in her ear, causing her to giggle.

"Oh hi Itachi-sempai. How are you? And how could you miss me? It's only been a few hours." She said, looking up at him.

"Natsumi, you can just call me Itachi, since we are going to the dance together." He smiled at her. "And how could I not miss your beautiful, radiant self?"

She blushed a bit, not used to being so ravished. She pulled out his grasp and smiled up at him. She faced Akito and gave him one as well. "Itachi asked me to go to the dance with him next Friday."

Akito's eyebrow twitched. "Why on earth would you go with that jerk?" he asked, pointing an accusing finger at Itachi. "I thought you said you weren't even going to go."

Natsumi huffed up a bit. "I never said I wasn't going." She pointed back at him, "I said I was interested, and you didn't want to go with me. So I don't understand what the big deal is." She crossed her arms then, giving him a hard stare. She wasn't exactly defending Itachi, but why was he acting like this? He said no when she asked him, and he wasn't even going.

"You never asked me to go." Akito crossed his arms. "You only asked if I was going. If you had asked me, I would have said yes." He said, growing impatient with her. Could she not see that Itachi was only after one thing? Given the way the eldest Uchiha was currently ignoring the entire argument and staring at her rear.

"Yes I did! When I asked if you were interested in going and you said no, I asked you 'Even if it was with me?' and you said you would rather go to club if you had to be surrounded by sweaty teens and loud music." She almost yelled, her anger bubbling over.

"I said that I didn't know, not that I wouldn't go with you. You never actually came out and said 'Akito, will you go to the dance with me?' or 'Do you want to go to the dance?' If you had, then I would have said yes. And now you're going with that prick." he said, glaring slightly.

Itachi looked up at this. "Akito, it is not my fault you do not know how to understand women. There is no need to resort to such childish things as name calling, it's degrading."

"Ch. Whatever." He said, walking away from both of them.

Natsumi covered her face with her hands and groaned loudly. Why was he acting this way? He didn't even want to go, and he probably wouldn't have even gone anyways if she asked him. Toshiro jogged after his friend and caught up to the irritated Uchiha. "Whoa dude what happened?"

"She's going to the dance with Itachi. I don't even understand why." He said, turning around and looking at the redhead. "Does she not understand that he only wants to get her in the sack and doesn't really care about her?"

"Why do you care?" he asked, arching a brow.

He sighed. "Because she's my friend. And, I mean, she's just so innocent and naïve, I don't want her to get hurt." He crossed his arms. "This whole not caring about only myself really sucks." He complained.

"Well did she ask you?"

"Not really. I mean, she asked if I was going, and I said no. And then she asked 'not even if it was with me' and I said that I didn't know. It didn't occur to me that in that moment she was asking me to go with her." He said.

Toshiro had to stop himself from laughing. "Really? How did you not know that? It was super obvious. I mean what exactly did you think 'Even if it was with me' meant?"

"I don't know, speculation?" he said, shrugging. "This is just great. Now I have to go and apologize or whatever so that she's not mad at me." He sighed. "Wish me luck." He said, heading over to her at that moment only because Itachi had been dragged off by Gai for one reason or another. He stopped when he was in front of her. "Hey." He said, looking at the ground.

She frowned, looking up at him and then turning away, trying to walk off. "I don't want to talk to you right now if you're just going to yell at me more."

He followed her, grabbing her arm in order to halt her retreat. "I'm not going to yell. I came over here to apologize." He explained.

She seemed a bit skeptical but stopped, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Ok."

"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you. And I'm sorry I didn't catch on that you were asking me to go with you the other day during lunch. I'm not good with social cues and whatnot, especially when it has to do with girls." He rubbed the back of his neck in slight exasperation.

She searched his eyes, the best she could through the lens of his glasses and sighed. "It's ok. I just don't want you to be mad. It's just one dance. It's not like we're going out or anything."

"Just, promise me you'll be careful. I know Itachi seems nice, and he can be, but I've known him my entire life. I just don't want you to get hurt." He said, placing his hand on her upper arm. She stepped close to him and smiled brightly, gripping onto his shirt.

"Oh come on Akito, you know I'm smarter than that."

The corner of his mouth tilted up slightly. "I know. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least warn you?"

She laughed and released him then. "Well since you couldn't go with me, will you go and help me pick out a dress? Sakura's grounded, but I need a second opinion."

"But it's such a girly thing…" he said in a mock whine, causing her to laugh once more. "Yeah, I'll go with you. Want me to come pick you up Saturday morning?"

"Um…" she paused and thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, the earlier the better…cause…well you know…" she said, frowning and looking off.

"Will he still be asleep if I come and get you at seven-thirty? We can go grab some breakfast and spend the whole day shopping." He said, wanting to cheer her up a bit.

She nodded. "Yes, any time before nine. But that's probably the safest bet. Since he'll drink himself into a coma anyways." She sighed and scratched her cheek. "He always does."

"Hey," he said, stroking her cheek, "It's going to be okay." He assured her.

"If you say so," she smiled, though he could tell it was a sad one.

Before he could say any more, their class started, and they split into teams for basketball. When it was over, Akito, Toshiro, and Natsumi, headed off to the locker rooms to get ready for track practice. The two boys split up when they got to the field, Toshiro going off to practice with the pole vault, and Akito off to run laps with Natsumi, as they usually did.

As practice drew to a close, Minako made her way over to the field, having finished with the Gardening Club early. Her hair was braided away from her face, and a bit of dirt was smeared on her cheek, since they were planting a few ferns in front of the school that would last until winter. She was wearing a loose, light blue t-shirt and a pair of old, faded jeans, dirt and grass stains on them from previous use.

She caught Toshiro's eye and waved him over, signaling that she wanted to talk to him whenever he was done with practice. He spoke to the girl he was with and jogged over once he was finished, stopping in front of the dark haired girl. "Hey Minako, what's up?" he asked, giving her a smile.

Minako began to fidget as her face darkened in a blush when he was before her, having not really thought this through. She had originally come here to ask him to go to the dance with her, but was now having second thoughts. She looked a mess, her hair was falling from its braid, and her clothes were dirty, the complete opposite if how she normally looked. What if he said no because she was presenting herself to him so horribly? She was their class president after all, and as such she had an image to uphold. An image in which she didn't look so dirty.

But, she thought, pausing in her nervous fidgeting, she had come all the way over here to ask him. And if she didn't, she'd never be able to forgive herself, or stop thinking of what could have happened. Plus, some other girl could ask him, since he was extremely attractive, and then, what if they got together and became an item? She'd be mortified.

Stopping her mental rambling, she took a fortifying breath and looked up at him. "?" she blurted, shutting her mouth immediately afterwards so that she didn't say anything else that made her sound like an idiot.

He blinked, looking slightly confused until he successfully deciphered her jumble of words. "Of course Minako, I'd love too." He smiled brightly, placing his hands on her shoulders.

She looked up at him, a bright smile spreading across her face. "Really?" she asked excitedly.

He nodded and rubbed the back of his head. "It should be fun, and we'll get to hang out outside of school."

"Of course!" she said, clasping her hands together. "This is going to be so great! Um, my dress is navy blue, if that's okay."

"Fine with me, you can always text me a picture so I can match it better." He suggested with a shrug. It was then that Akito ran up, with Natsumi on his back since he was giving her a piggy back ride.

"What's up home slices?" Natsumi pointed at them, winking.

"Shiro-kun and I are going to the dance together!" Minako exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

"Whoa no way! That's great!" The pink haired girl cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "Isn't that great Akito?" Natsumi asked, patting his dark hair like a puppy.

"Joyous." He said, rolling his eyes at her, even though she couldn't see it. Minako giggled at them, and then turned towards the redhead.

"Well I have to get going, my father is waiting for me at the front of the school, and I still have to put my uniform back on." She told him, and then she hugged him quickly before heading back towards the school. "Bye!" She waved, beginning to jog back so that her parent wasn't too upset with her for making him wait.

They all waved after her and then Toshiro looked at the two. "Why exactly are you giving Natsumi a piggy back ride?"

"Because, Toshiro," Natsumi began smugly, resting her chin on Akito's head. "I beat him in our race and our bet was if I won then he had to carry me around until I got bored of it."

"And are you bored of it?"

"Not even close." She snickered, nuzzling her best guy friend.

"At least you're light, so I don't mind all that much. This way my arms get a workout too." Akito said.

She laughed and shrugged. "Well onward slave! I need to go change for cheerleading practice!" she said, pointing off dramatically.

He sighed and waved to Toshiro before heading to the locker rooms. "Does this mean you're done having me carry you?" he asked hopefully.

"Of course not!" she smiled happily. "I have to go to cheerleading practice don't I?"

"But then after that I can go home, right?" he asked, turning his head to look up at her.

She huffed, and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, almost as if she were hugging him. "Yeah, I guess."

Thinking about it, he gave her an inquisitive look. "Hey Natsumi, how is it that you get home every day? Because I know you and Sakura don't have the same schedule when it comes to after school activities."

She released him and got off without a word, since they were beside the locker room. "Don't worry about that, I get home." She waved him off. "I should go change now." She went into the locker room and changed quickly, coming back out and giving Akito an expectant look. But before he turned so that she could get on his back, he crossed his arms.

"What are the days that you can't go home with Sakura? It's no problem for me to stay longer and take you home, there are plenty of things I can do while I wait." He said.

"No."

"Why not?" he asked, becoming slightly frustrated with her.

She shook her head, looking sad. "You do so much for me Akito…I couldn't. It's fine. I ride the bus home, or walk. It's no big deal."

"I don't mind Natsumi. Riding the bus and walking are not safe anyways, especially for someone as attractive as you. If it really makes you feel bad, you can come up with a way to repay me. Like…" he trailed off, thinking of what she could do. He didn't need or want money, and he knew she didn't have much of that. But what else? He snapped his fingers as an answer came to him. "You could give me whatever it is you make in the Cooking Club every week."

Her face fell and she gave him an odd look, placing her hand on her bare stomach since she was in her cheerleading uniform. "So you want me to make you something so that you can drive me home every night I don't have clinical?"

"Well, you cook anyways in that club, right? You don't really have to, your company is enough. I enjoy spending time with you, so it would be no problem." He told her. "Besides, the longer I stay here, the less time I have to spend with Itachi and Sasuke. So in reality, you'd be doing me a huge favor."

She arched a delicate brow and eyed him suspiciously. "Why are you so intent on this, do you really think I will get raped? I've been riding the bus for years." She laughed. "Nothing has happened so far."

"But that doesn't mean it won't." he said, raising a finger. "I only have your best interests in mind. Plus, wouldn't you rather ride my awesome motorcycle than walk or ride that dirty bus?"

She lifted a finger, opening her mouth to object. She blinked and shut her mouth, blushing a bit. "Ok, fine." She huffed, though she was excited about the thought.

He smirked triumphantly. "Good. Now get on, it wouldn't do for the Cheerleading Captain to be late." He said, turning and crouching down so that she could hop on his back. She laughed and hopped on, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and resting her head on his. He took her to the field where the cheerleaders practiced and set her down gently. "I will begin taking you home starting today, so I'll just watch you guys practice." He told her, motioning to the bleachers, where he would sit.

Her face turned a dark red, "Wh-what? You're going to watch? But what if I mess up?"

"I highly doubt that will happen." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Natsumi huffed and watched him walk off, heading to her team and giving them all waves. They talked a bit before starting, but eventually the practice began. As Akito watched, he couldn't help but be impressed with what these girls could do. Some of the moves Natsumi accomplished where pretty mind blowing, that and the fact that she trusted these little sticks to catch her as she flipped in the air.

Finally practice ended, and they all packed up. Natsumi stuffed her pom-poms in her duffle bag and zipped it up, walking over to him as he met her half way. She was breathing a bit harshly, but she had worked really hard to make sure everything was perfect. "So…" she began, a bit breathlessly. "What did you think?"

"You were amazing." He told her truthfully.

She smiled brightly. "Really?" he asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"Yes." He nodded, picking her up bridal style instead of having her jump on his back once more. "I imagine that after all that exercise you're pretty hungry, so you wanna grab a bite to eat on the way home?" He asked, carrying her in the direction of his motorcycle.

She blinked and blushed, not really knowing why he was carrying her so, but she didn't mind. She kind of liked it. "Well I am, but I don't have any money with me." She laughed. "So you can just take me home, I'll make something there."

Akito held in a sigh and looked down at her. "Natsumi, how many times do we have to have this conversation? I will pay for it. It's no problem." She squirmed a bit in his hold.

"No, I feel so bad. I feel like I'm taking advantage of you." She whined, shutting her eyes tightly.

"You're not though. Besides, if we were dating it would be like this. The man always pays for the meal." He said firmly, nodding to emphasize his more traditional belief that he had been raised on.

She giggled, poking his chest. "Yes, but we are not dating. You're my amazing best friend." She smiled, resting her cheek against his chest.

"And as your amazing best friend, I insist on taking care of you. You shall forever offend me if you refuse letting me buy you dinner." He said, smirking down at her. By then they had reached his bike, but he had yet to let her go.

Natsumi just laughed, and pressed her hand against his chest. "Fine, fine." She said, snuggling into him. "I promise I will not say no when you offer me things. But you cannot say that I am using you. Because you're making me." She snickered, making sure he knew she was teasing him.

He scoffed. "I'm not making you, per se, just strongly advising." He said with a smirk, setting her down. He put both of their bags in his trunk and handed her his spare helmet. Once they were both ready, they sped out of the school parking lot and through the streets. Natsumi laid her head on Akito's shoulder, smiling to herself. She was glad that he had transferred to her school, unable to think back on what her life had been like before meeting him. It seemed, that no matter how dark her world became, he was always there to bring her to the light.


	6. Shopping Time

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Six_

-Shopping Time-

Natsumi peeked into the master bedroom of the apartment and saw that her father was still knocked out cold. She smiled, glad for the luck she was receiving. She crept to the door, grabbing her purse and sitting down on the step down to the shoe area. She slipped on her red flats that had strings that tied up to her mid-shin.

After she was finished tying her shoes she stood and smoothed out her shirt. She was wearing short jean shorts and a halter top. It was light colored with light pink, yellow, light orange, and white horizontal stripes. It was just short enough to show off some of her midriff. She slipped out the door and closed it silently. Cheering in her head for her victory she hurried down the hall and towards the steps. She almost screamed when she slammed into Akito, who was coming up the stairs that moment. She gripped onto him, already feeling his arms wrap around her waist to steady her.

"Oh god Akito!" she gasped. "You scared me."

"Sorry." He said, seeming like he meant it. He took in her outfit, but refrained from commenting on how hot she looked. He figured he could avoid sounding stupid that way, unless she asked him, because then he'd have to tell her the truth. He himself was wearing a pair of somewhat loose dark denim jeans, black sneakers, and a plain black t-shirt on. "Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah let's hurry." She said, taking his hand and taking the stairs two at a time. "Don't want to chance him waking up and stopping me."

They went downstairs, but this time, instead of his motorcycle he led her to a sleek black jaguar. When she looked at him in confusion, he shrugged. "What? I figured you wouldn't want your dress to get wrinkled, and this way if you get shoes and whatnot there's room to transport it."

"Good idea." She said a bit wide eyed, somehow it was just uncomprehend able that he would drive anything other than his sexy motorcycle. She stopped her thoughts right there and turned a dark red. She shouldn't think such things about her friend. It would only make things awkward between them and she loved having him as her best friend.

He walked over to the passenger side and held her door open for her. "My Lady." He said with a sweep of his arm, bowing slightly. He looked up at her and smirked. She giggled and slid in, looking around at the interior as he walked around the car. It was so nice. She ran her fingertips along the leather and looked over at him as he got in and started the car.

"Thanks for coming with me to pick out my dress."

"It's no problem." He said, driving through the Saturday morning traffic. "I have nothing better to do, and I didn't want you to go by yourself." They pulled into an IHOP then. "Hope you're hungry, cause' I'm starving." He said, smiling over at her as he turned off his car.

She arched an inquisitive brow. "If I didn't know any better I would say you were trying to make me fat." She smirked.

He chuckled. "Please. With all the physical activities you do every day, there's just no way that would happen." He got out of the car then and walked around the hood, opening her door. "Now come on, before all the good booths are taken." He joked.

She got up and took his offered arm, walking with him into the restaurant. "I seriously doubt an Uchiha would get placed anywhere but the best."

"I know, it's such a curse. All this testosterone and charisma in one body." He sighed, ignoring the host and leading her to a booth of his choosing. What were they going to do, kick them out? No. Besides, it was the booth he always sat in when he ate here.

She sat across from him and looked through the menu, trying to decide what she wanted. She was so hungry and it was pretty early, so she was craving breakfast. "Oh!" she gasped, looking up. "Akito! I have a soccer game this week, would you want to come and cheer me on?"

He looked up from his menu and blinked. "Why? I mean, will I be the only one there?" he asked, unsure, since he had never been to a game at their school, or any other school for that matter.

Her expression fell a bit, "Well you don't have to go if you don't want to. I don't want to make you." She said, picking up her menu and looking over it again.

"No, I want to." He said quickly, this time picking up on his blunder. "But I've never been to one of these things before, so I don't know how they work exactly." He admitted, pushing his glasses up his nose a bit in order to keep his act of being a nerd convincing to her.

"Well," she paused, thinking about it. "Everyone from our class goes. Gaara is the mid-midfielder, Sasuke is the right forward and I play left forward. Kiba and Naruto are on the team as well. Naruto is goalie and Kiba is a defender. Everyone else comes to watch and cheer us on. So you can sit with Toshiro and Minako." She smiled happily, just thinking about it.

"Okay." He nodded, wanting to make her happy. A contemplative look came to his face then. "But, who is going to lead the cheer squad while you play?"

"My cousin and Ino of course." She laughed, looking up as the waitress came up to take their orders.

"Hello dears. What can I get you?"

"Chocolate milk and a stack of three pancakes please, with a side of hash browns and bacon." Akito said. She smiled and gave him a nod, turning to Natsumi.

"Um same, chocolate milk. Can I get two pancakes and, um…ten pieces of bacon." She blushed a bit, as the waitress laughed.

"Wow little miss, how are you so tiny. Cute little thing. We'll have that right out." She smiled and left them then.

"So where do you want to go to look for a dress? I know of a few good dress stores, unless you just wanted to go to the mall." He asked her.

Natsumi just shrugged. "I dunno, we should probably go to the mall. That's more in my price range then a specialty boutique."

"Okay. But if you find a dress you really like, don't hesitate to get it. I will cover the difference." He said as their food was sat in front of them.

She shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no. You can't keep doing that." She huffed, blushing a bit. "I couldn't accept that." She said, picking up a piece of bacon and nibbling on it.

He cut into his pancakes and began to eat. "Nonsense. Think of it as my birthday present to you. It is in a week and a half after all." She just stared down at her plate eating silently. After a while, she spoke up but the question shocked him.

"You said your parents died when you were little, but why did you stay in Kyoto all that time?"

Akito stopped eating, looking across the table at her. "I was sent to live with my Aunt on my mother's side. She was an Uchiha by marriage you see, and at the time, none of my other relatives wanted me." He said, his gaze now on the table. "After all, Uchiha do not have time to raise a four year old boy, they have their own lives to deal with."

"I'm sorry," she frowned, feeling guilty for bringing it up. "I didn't mean to, that's terrible. I'll shut up now." She blabbered, stuffing her mouth full of pancake.

"No, in the end, everything worked out." He smiled slightly to show her it was okay. "My Aunt really did care about me, and the time I stayed with her I was happy. The only reason I didn't come to live with Itachi and Sasuke sooner was because their father wanted to wait until I was older, so that I'd be less of a hassle. But a year ago she got cancer and died, so I came here." He took a drink of his chocolate milk. "Perhaps she is in Heaven with your mother." He said softly.

"I hope so…after my mother died, I heard this religion that said committing suicide is a sin and that you go to hell for it. So sometimes, I'm not so sure. But she was so kind and nice, I like to think it was enough to get her there." She said, smiling painfully.

"Well, I'm not big on religion, but I believe that those who are good people, and deserve happiness go to Heaven." He said, trying to console her. She nodded, but her lip quivered and she felt the tears spill from her eyes.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." She said, trying to wipe them away with her hand. "This is so stupid. I can't believe I'm crying." She sniffed, trying to laugh. She really didn't want to worry him.

He got up and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her closer to him in a comforting embrace. "Don't be sorry for showing me a different side of you Natsumi." He said, reaching up with his hand and gently wiping away her tears. She cried into his chest, unable to stop the flow now.

"I don't understand why she would leave me here with him. She abandoned me, she left me…" she sobbed. "She left me…"

Akito pulled her into his lap and began to stroke her back in order to soothe her. "She left you for me to come save." He said softly, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

She choked out a sob, "I…I want to leave…" she barely whispered. She was humiliated that she had broken down in the middle of a restaurant.

"Of course." He pulled out some bills, not even caring that it was way too much for the meal. "Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you?" he asked.

"I can walk," she said softly, letting him pull her up with him and lead her out of the establishment. "I'm sorry," she sniffed, rubbing her eyes.

He opened her door for her and then got in on his side, starting the car. "It's okay Natsumi." He said, giving her a reassuring look. "Do you need me to get you anything? Coffee? Chocolate?"

She shook her head slowly, holding her knees tightly with her hands. "I'll be ok," she assured him, taking deep and even breathes.

Not really knowing what to do, he reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Natsumi, I just want you to know, that I will never leave you. No matter what." He told her earnestly. Finally, she calmed down and wiped away her tear stained cheeks once more to try and fix her appearance. She looked over at him, but then glanced down.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…I can't believe I did that. I'm just very sorry."

He pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the mall. "There is no need to keep apologizing Natsumi. I said it was fine." He told her, glancing at her as he drove.

"Ok," she nodded, staring out the window.

They pulled into the mall a while later, and Akito opened her door for her once more. "Lead the way." He said, nodding to the large building. "I've never been here before so I don't know where anything is." She pulled down the visor first and checked her face, making sure she didn't look like she had just been crying. She got out of the car and gave him a small smile and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you."

He smiled down at her and returned her embrace. "Any time."

She actually smiled finally, "You're my best friend Akito."

"You're my best friend too. But don't tell Toshiro I said that, otherwise he'll never let it go." He said.

She snickered, looking up at him, "Oh yes, you know how those women are."

"Exactly. Now let's go find you a dress." He said, taking her hand in his and leading her to the entrance of the mall. She followed after him, then having to lead him to the dress store. They looked through the ones she liked, tried on many, but none seemed to be right. So they left and looked for the other formal dress store.

When they walked in, the woman attempted to intercept them, having seen they were teenagers. That was until she caught a glance of Akito. "Oh my an Uchiha." She smiled, giving them a small bow. "A rare sight Uchiha-sama. How can I help you?"

"We would like to be shown your finest white dresses that come to about here," he said, showing her the length on Natsumi. "And are very flattering and tasteful, but still modest." He instructed, knowing Itachi didn't need any more reasons to be lecherous with her at the dance.

She glanced over at him with a curious gaze. "Modest?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah, you know…so you're not practically falling out of your dress." He explained, his cheeks tinting with pink in slight embarrassment.

Natsumi looked off, placing her fingers over her lips, it was beginning to get harder. "Do you think I would pick such a dress?" she asked, unable to face him, it would make her serious tone lose all credibility. He was so silly sometimes.

Akito began to worry that he had said the wrong thing and upset her. "No, but…I mean, I don't want you to get in trouble with any of the teachers and stuff…and…yeah." He said, scratching the back of his head.

She laughed and smiled back at him, "You're funny Akito." She pat his arm and then walked forward as the woman brought out a few. Natsumi looked through them, frowning at the offered choices. They were pretty alright, but it wasn't what she was looking for. "Don't you…have anything else?" she asked.

"Hm." The sales woman tapped her chin and then looked as is a light bulb had gone off. "Actually I do believe we have one in the back I haven't put out yet. Let me go get it." She smiled, walking off. Natsumi smiled and looked back at Akito who looked incredibly bored, but was currently trying to make sense of a dress on a nearby hanger.

When the woman reemerged, Natsumi went wide eyed and actually gasped. "It's perfect!" she squealed, taking it from the woman. "I'm going to try it on," she told them and disappeared into one of the dressing room. It was a bit later when she poked her head out and gave Akito a pointed look. "Ok, you have to tell me how it looks and don't lie." She huffed and came out, looking off. "Well? What do you think?"

Akito turned and looked at her, his eyes widening slightly as he took in her appearance. The dress was strapless, with a sweetheart neckline that was low, but still modest, and came down to her knees. It was all white, switching between a silky material and a sheer fabric in lines that only enhanced her figure. "Beautiful." He said, almost breathlessly. A dark red blush spread across her cheeks.

"Really?"

The woman standing beside him nodded as well. "Wow. You've got quite a figure."

"Yes. Itachi is a lucky man." He said, a bit begrudgingly. If his bastard of a cousin dared try anything with her, he would kill him.

"Ok!" she clapped excitedly. "Cause I really like it." She said, disappearing back into the dressing room. She took the dress off carefully and placed it back on the hanger and that was when she noticed the price tag. Her eyes went wide and she had to hold in a gasp. It was two hundred dollars more than she had and that was before tax. She groaned and hit her head against the wall, "Always look first you moron." She told herself before getting dressed in her own clothes. She came back out, holding the dress and offered it back to the sales woman. "I'm very sorry, I should have checked the price. I can't afford this." She sighed.

Akito rolled his eyes and took the dress from Natsumi, heading straight for the checkout. "Natsumi, the price is no problem." He said, laying it on the counter. He looked at the saleswoman. "We'll take it."

Natsumi nearly had a panic attack as she ran and placed herself between him and the counter, holding him back. "No, no, no! I can't, that's far too much! I am putting my foot down on this Akito! See!" she gestured, stomping her foot on the ground for emphasis.

He smirked at her. "Fine. Then you go find another dress, and I will purchase this one anyways. You cannot stop me from spending my money. And as I said before, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I will cover the difference of the price that you can't." he said.

She growled at him, protest all over her face. She released him from her hold and huffed, pulling out her wallet and taking out her debit card. "Stupid rich boy," she grumbled handing the woman her payment. "You just have to be so difficult don't you?" she asked, glancing back at his smug face. "Put one hundred and fifty on this."

The woman swiped the card and entered the amount. "Alright, that leaves two hundred and thirteen dollars left." She smiled, eyeing the Uchiha. Her excitement grew when she saw the famous Uchiha black American express. "Thank you," she said a bit too friendly and swiped the card.

"No problem." He said, taking his card back from her and putting it in his wallet. As the woman put the dress in a special carrying bag, he looked at Natsumi. "At least I spend my money on you and not something stupid." He said with a smile.

"That is something stupid," she said, poking his cheek.

"Not to me." He told her, turning and carefully taking the packaged dress from the woman. "Do you want to buy shoes to wear with the dress as well? Jewelry?" he asked her.

"I just spent all my money."

"Natsumi." He said, giving her a pointed look. "I really don't mind."

She looked away, trying to fight his gaze. "No! Stop trying to tempt me with your smooth words and knowing I want things. I feel bad."

"If you think about it logically, you need a pair of shoes to wear that matches your dress, otherwise you'll look funny." He said, glancing down at her as they walked out of the store. She pouted, crossing her arms.

"Fine." She huffed. "But you have to let me do something for you. Ok? So what do you want?"

"Surprise me." He said, leading her towards a shoe store.

She tapped her chin and glanced at him, snapping her fingers. "I got it!" she smiled, taking hold of his arm and pulling him a bit down. She pressed her lips against his cheek and kissed his smooth flesh. "Thank you," she said, moving away from him and looking through the different heels.

Akito placed his hand over the spot her lips had touched him, watching Natsumi with a look of awe as she focused on the shoes before her. "You're welcome." He said softly, quickly shaking his head to wipe the astonished look off of his face. It wasn't that he'd never kissed a girl before, heck, he'd kissed plenty, having been the school's bad boy when he lived in Kyoto. But for some reason, that small touch had made him feel more than making out with any of his previous girlfriends had. Well, they weren't really his girlfriends, he used the term lightly. He stopped thinking his treacherous thoughts. He and Natsumi were just friends. That was how she saw him, and that was the only way she wanted to see him. Plus, he wanted to prove to himself that he was capable of having a female friend without the ulterior motive of physical pleasure present in their relationship.

Natsumi finally picked a pair of strappy white heels that would match her dress perfectly. She walked back over to him and held them out, since he was buying she wanted to make sure he liked them and approved.

"I like them." He told her.

"Yay." She smiled, walking to the register and handing the boy the box. He took them and went a bit wide eyed.

"Oh my god…you're Natsumi." He said.

She looked off, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "Um, do I know you?"

"No. But you're the prettiest girl at school, I'm the vice president of your fan club!" he said excitedly.

"What?" she gasped.

"Nothing, nothing." He said, stroking her hand that was resting on the counter. She tried not to let her disgust show as she moved it away quickly.

"Um can I just get the shoes please?"

He nodded excitedly, "Of course, of course." He smiled.

Akito eyed the boy suspiciously as he handed him his debit card. "Here." He said tersely, not wanting to be around the strange kid.

When the younger boy took notice of the Uchiha he glared, snatching the card and ringing the shoes up. "I don't understand why you are with this nerd, he's such a loser. Nothing like his cousins. Just look at those lame ass glasses."

Natsumi actually snatched the bag and glared at him. "Shut up you weirdo stalker. We're not together, he's my best friend. And I like his glasses thank you very much." She huffed and walked out with Akito close behind. "What a freak."

"You're telling me." He agreed, catching up to her. "You actually like my glasses?" he asked, seeming surprised.

She blushed and let out an awkward laugh, scratching her cheek. "Well, yeah, I mean. You look so smart but kinda guarded. Though that's probably stupid sounding." She waved it off.

"Hm." He said, relieved that that was all she thought. It meant that his disguise was working, since in reality they were just frames filled with glass, no prescription at all. "Did you want to get a necklace or anything? To wear with your dress?" he asked her, glancing at his watch. Interesting, it was almost noon. Time seemed to fly whenever he was with Natsumi.

"No, no. I have something to wear." She said simply. "But thank you this will be fine."

"Right, let's get some lunch then. Do you want to eat here in the food court, or go somewhere where else?" he asked.

"Let's go out, I'm kind of tired of the mall." She laughed. They left then, going out to eat, which seemed to become routine. The rest of the day flew by and it was dark when Akito dropped Natsumi off at her apartment. Unfortunately she talked him into staying down and not walking up with her. She didn't want a repeat of the last encounter with her father.

When she was gone and he could no longer see her, he drove off, heading back for his own home. He parked the car and went inside, immediately heading up the stairs towards his room. But before he could get to the end of the hall, he was unexpectedly slammed against the wall, held in place by a strong forearm. "What the hell?" he asked, seeing the face of his elder cousin.

"Stay away from Natsumi Akito. You are ruining my plans." Itachi said, his face stern.

Akito smirked. "I can't believe people call you a genius. She and I are just friends you moron." He said.

"I don't care. The more time you spend with her, the less I get to. She might start to have feelings for you romantically, and I cannot have that. It will throw my entire plan of bedding her out the window." The eldest Uchiha said.

"Even better. And, the fact that you see me as a threat is flattering. Sasuke will be jealous to hear this piece of news, since you think of him as nothing more than dirt under your feet." Akito spat. He was pressed further into the wall, a silent threat.

"Technically Natsumi and I are an item now, and you will be seen as nothing but a home wrecker. Think about it, little cousin." He said emphatically. "And I do not see you as a threat. Because why would any woman want you, when the definition of a man is right before them?" he stepped away, allowing Akito to breathe easier. "Just watch your step." He warned before turning and going down the stairs.

Akito rubbed his neck in order to get rid of the slight pain he felt there and went into his room. Flopping onto his bed, he stared at the ceiling. He didn't care what Itachi said, or what people thought. Natsumi needed someone to look out for her, protect her, and he would be the one to do it. For the rest of his days. It was his promise to her, and an Uchiha never broke a promise. Ever.


	7. Soccer Game

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Seven_

-Soccer Game-

Akito sighed as he made his way to the soccer field. He had stayed after school with Natsumi, like he always did, and watched her make sure that the cheer squad was ready. It was all quite comical, especially since Sakura had complained about having to wear the uniform. It seemed she was a lot more self-conscious about her body than her cousin was, although he didn't see why. They practically had the same build, minus their chest sizes and the fact that Natsumi was a bit smaller in the waist area.

Seeing a patch of red on the bleachers, he instantly knew it was Toshiro. The fact that a girl with long dark hair was next to him only added to this knowledge. Ever since asking him to the dance, Minako and Toshiro spent a lot more time together. He supposed it was because they wanted to get to know one another better, but he also suspected it was because they had a mutual crush. Sasori and Itachi were at the game as well, sitting on the front row of the bleachers so that they would be better able to see the cheerleaders perform. Perverts.

"Akito-kun, over here!" Minako called, waving her arm. He nodded in acknowledgement and climbed the steps towards where they were sitting. It seemed everyone at the school was here to see the game, and it was then Akito knew that soccer was their school sport, not football.

"Hey guys." He greeted, taking a seat next to Toshiro.

"What's up man? Glad you could make it." The red head smiled, giving him a thumbs up.

He looked around the stadium. "When does the game start?" he asked.

"It's should start shortly. See," Minako pointed to where all of the cheerleaders were entering from. "The cheer squad always comes out first to begin a cheer."

Toshiro nodded, "Yeah, but who cares about the cheer. Our soccer team is _the_ best. The games are phenomenal!"

"I've never been to one." He admitted.

Minako smiled over at him. "Not anymore! Now that you go to our school, and are Natsumi-chan's best friend, you are obligated to go."

He sighed. "Yup." The cheerleaders began their opening cheer, and soon after the soccer team ran out onto the field, causing the students to erupt into cheers while the enemy school booed. Luckily they were sitting in the bleachers on the other side of the field, so it wasn't too terribly loud.

Down on the field, Naruto elbowed his best friend. "Hey Gaara! Look! Natsumi-chan got Sakura-chan to help out and fill her spot for the cheerleaders!" he declared, pointing down the field a bit at the pink haired girl.

Gaara glanced over, his gaze focusing on Sakura. She actually looked like she was having fun encouraging others to cheer. Natsumi elbowed Gaara and snickered. "She looks pretty sweet in the uniform don't ya think?"

The red head turned a light pink and crossed his arms, "Well yes, I suppose. But it's not like I was staring."

"Sure you were." Sasuke said simply.

"Shut up." He frowned.

Natsumi just laughed and pulled up her black soccer socks. Their uniforms were there school colors, black and white. Their soccer shorts were black and their jerseys were white with black sleeves. When she straightened and the cheer ended and all they were waiting for was the other team to be ready, Natsumi took a deep breath and shouted towards her cousin. "Sakura! Gaara thinks you look SUPER hot in that uniform!"

Said red head went wide eyed and clapped his hand over Natsumi's mouth, silencing her and making her struggle for air. "What are you doing you crazy girl?"

Sakura looked over at them in slight surprise, and blushed madly when she made eye contact with Gaara. Despite wanting to turn away and hide her blush from his, she waved, smiling slightly at the redhead. He waved back awkwardly and then resumed strangling Natsumi. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Yup!" She laughed, pulling his hands off her.

Kiba walked up to them then and pat Gaara on the shoulder. "Chill man. You can't kill her anyways. She's one of our Golden Triangle."

"Why do you always refer to us as the 'Golden triangle'?" Sasuke asked in a bored tone, crossing his arms.

"Because," Kiba elongated the word. "You, Natsumi, and Gaara are like the scoring champions. We're undefeated cause you guys work so flawlessly together." He nodded.

Gaara just rolled his eyes and called to the rest of the team who was starting. Akito couldn't help but notice there was only one other girl aside from Natsumi on the team. It was kind of odd that the team was even co-ed. Everyone took their positions on the field and Gaara stood at the center with the other captain for the coin toss.

Toshiro leaned over to his friend, munching on some popcorn. "This is going to be good Akito. I don't really like Sasuke that much, but even you're going to think this is cool. And Gaara does this really awesome throw in. I can't wait for you to see it. Not to mention this is like Natsumi's zone."

"It should be interesting to watch then. I've seen Sasuke play before, actually played with him a few times as kids." Akito said, taking a handful of Toshiro's popcorn. Closer to the field, Itachi nudged Sasori.

"Man, just get a look at Sakura. This here is proof that she's even hotter than we originally thought." He said, watching her talk to Ino about the next cheer they were going to do.

Sasori eyed her hungrily, a dark smirk on his features. "She is very nice to look at, but then again. So is the spit fire. Plus the game is about to start." He pointed as the referee tossed the ball to Gaara.

The red head backed up and set the ball down in its proper position. He glanced over at Sasuke and then over to Natsumi, giving them both a nod. He backed up and locked gazes with his opponent. Then the game began as Gaara took the ball and maneuvered around the center mid fielder. They all seemed to scatter around the field, Gaara passed over to Sasuke who kicked it up and headed it right over a boy with dark brown hair.

When it touched back down he dodged around another blonde with some fancy foot work and kicked it high in the air, towards the goal. But it wasn't a goal, at least not yet. Natsumi ran up to another one of their opponents and used him as a boost. Her jumped looked more like a cheerleading move than a move for soccer, but she twisted in the air and hit the ball spot on before landing gracefully on the ground.

The goalie dove, trying to jump up for the ball, but it sailed straight into the net. Their side went wide cheering loudly as Natsumi ran up to Sasuke giving him a high five. The stoic Uchiha actually looking excited for once.

"Yes! Go Natsumi-chan!" Minako called, clapping. Akito clapped as well, but kept his gaze trained on the field.

They kicked off again, but a member from the other team stole the ball and headed for the goal before anything similar to what had just happened occurred again. He maneuvered through the players and kicked, his shot being blocked by Naruto, who was the goalie. The blonde boy picked up the ball and punted it with all his might, sailing it straight for Sasuke.

The ebony haired boy deftly bounced the flying ball on his head and let it fall to the ground before taking it towards the enemy's goal. In his peripheral vision, he saw that he was about to be surrounded, and so sent it sailing towards Gaara with a hard kick. The red head caught the pass, just before it could be blocked by the other team and moved around the last person in his way of the goal before sailing the ball straight past the rival goalie's head.

"I can see why you said our team is the best. I don't know why the other schools even try to win." Akito commented, leaning forward as he got caught up in the game.

"Eh, it's a mystery my friend. It's a mystery. But it's entertaining." Toshiro laughed and nudged Minako. "Hey you want anything to drink?"

She smiled at him. "A Dr. Pepper would be great please, Shiro-kun. Father never lets me have soda at home.

"Sure thing." He said happily, getting up and then looking down at Akito. "What about you? Need anything?"

"No thanks, I'm good." Akito said with a nod, moving so that Toshiro could get down the bleachers.

Ino and Sakura watched the game from the side lines, cheering for them as they made another goal. "Man! Kiba is so awesome." She squealed, blowing a kiss to her beloved, who pretended to catch it and press it against his lips. The blonde giggled and smiled, looking back to Sakura. "Thanks again for helping out Sakura. It really helps that Natsumi makes you practice with her."

"It's no problem, I know she'd do the same for me." Sakura said, smiling slightly. "You're so lucky to have Kiba as your boyfriend Ino. He's completely devoted to you." She commented, slightly envious.

The blonde smiled brightly, leaning against her friend, since they were sitting in the grass. "Yeah he really is. Not the smartest kid off the street but you gotta love him. Plus he's funny and a super hunk. But you know you could have a boyfriend too Sakura. Lots of boys like you, not to mention you've got two Sabaku boys playing a nice little cherry blossom tune." She smirked, tickling her friend's side.

Sakura giggled. "What do you mean, two Sabaku boys? Sasori is the only one who's shown an interest in me at all." She said.

Ino just rolled her eyes and leaned back on her hands. "You know Sakura for a smart girl, you're really stupid."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, slightly insulted.

"Nothing." She sang, looking back to the game and sitting up. "Oh! Look it's our ball and Gaara's throwing it in." she pointed.

Gaara backed up slowly and looked around, taking note of where everyone on his team was. Toshiro hit Akito a few times in the arm getting excited. "Here it comes." He said, handing Minako her soda. Gaara ran towards the boundary line and leaned forward, pressing the ball to the ground as he flipped and thrust the ball into play. It sailed over the heads of the other team and before it could hit the ground, Sasuke caught it, letting it hit his chest and bounce down to his feet so he could control the ball.

Suddenly, the defenders were around him and he barely managed to get it out and send it to Natsumi, who caught it with the side of her foot. She glanced around, assessing everyone's position as if doing geometry in her head. Before anyone could do anything , she kicked the ball up high and turned around, doing a back flip and aiming her foot just right to kick the ball, barely making it into the corner of the net.

The crowd erupted into cheers once more. The score was now five to three and it was starting to look grim for the other team. Minako was yelling her cheers, as was Toshiro, but Akito just clapped silently. He would tell Natsumi when the game was over how amazing she was. Nobody else needed to hear it but her.

Sakura and Ino had risen, along with the rest of the cheerleaders, in order to do the standard cheer for when their team got a goal. Sakura, though she said she didn't like it, loved being in the cheerleader's uniform and participating in pumping up the crowd. In this way she felt pretty, because all of the cheerleaders were, and she felt like she was helping out the school.

The other team was crowded around, muttering amongst one another as they set up for the next kick off. The team captain glared at Gaara, but his gaze shifted to the pink haired girl. The next play started and he shuffled the ball with his feet, successfully keeping it away from the redhead. The blonde dodged to the side, towards Natsumi, and pulled his leg back, kicking as hard as he possibly could. The ball shot up and slammed right into Natsumi's face making everyone go silent.

She fell back from the sheer impact, pain shooting down her spine. She heard the crack from her nose and could already feel the blood rushing out. It was almost like it happened in slow motion, until she was flat on her back, with Gaara and Sasuke and half the team hovering over her. The referee had blown the whistle and called it a foul, but that didn't wipe the smug, victorious smirk off his face.

Seeing it happen, Akito shot to his feet and ran down the bleachers, leaping over the fence that separated them from the field. As he began to run towards Natsumi, a small hand shot out and stopped him. He looked over to see Sakura standing there. "You can't go out onto the field, it's against the rules. Only if you're family." She said.

"I don't give a damn. I'm gonna kick that bastard's ass." He growled, glaring at her.

"Sakura, could you be a doll and go see if Natsumi is alright? I would be forever grateful." Itachi asked, seeming concerned as he leaned against the fence. She nodded, and looked back to Akito.

"Go back to the other side of the fence. I will tell you her condition." She ordered, before running onto the field to check on her cousin.

Reluctantly, Akito turned around and hopped back over the fence. "Your concern for her is most amusing, little cousin." Itachi drawled, smiling lazily. "But it is unnecessary. If Natsumi needs to be held and reassured, that is my job. Now why don't you go and sit with your little friends and let me handle everything."

"Shut up Itachi. I am going to stay down here until I know if she's alright." He said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Itachi shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Sakura finally reached her cousin, and kneeled on the grass next to her. "Natsumi! Are you alright? Can you feel your nose?" she asked, trying to wipe away some of the blood so it didn't get into her hair. It would suck if it dried, because blood was a pain to wash out, which both girls knew because of Clinical. "Are you disoriented?" she continued, swinging into what she called her Medic Mode.

She looked up at her cousin, tears welling in her eyes. "I can't feel my face, I think my nose is broken." She said painfully, trying to wipe away the blood. "Gah," she winced when her hand touched her nose. "It freaking hurts."

"I'll go get you some ice Natsumi-chan," Naruto said worriedly, jogging off towards the nurse's station. Gaara grimaced and stood straight, looking over to the stupid boy who did this to his teammate. He was laughing and seemed to be proud of himself, the red head gritted his teeth together and walked over pulling his fist back and slugging him right in the jaw. But before he could get in another blow Kiba and Sasuke were there holding him back while the other boy's friends tried to help him up.

"What the fuck you ass-wipe! If you're going to play dirty at least hit a man! You disgust me!" he shouted. The ref ran up and blew his whistle glaring between the boys.

"Calm down Gaara, don't make me foul you as well." He frowned.

The blonde shot up and started yelling. "What? He just freaking punched me in the face!"

"You need to back off boy. Don't piss me off…jack-ass." He muttered under his breath, walking off.

Sakura gave Natsumi a sympathetic look. "This will hurt a little, but unless you want a crooked nose, it has to be done." She said. Knowing what her cousin was about to do, Natsumi nodded. Sakura reached forward and grabbed her nose, moving it back into place quickly and causing more blood to flow. The injured girl cried out slightly at the pain, and Sakura grimaced. "I'm sorry Sumi-chan." She said, using a name that she used to call her when they were young, and now only did rarely.

"No, it's ok…thank you Cherry-chan." She smiled painfully, trying not cry. It just hurt so much. She tried to rub at the soreness in hope it would get better. "Damn, damn, damn." She cursed, slamming her fist into the ground. She sat up and tried not to throw up from the dizziness. "If that freaking retard made my nose swell up, I'm going to kill him."

Gaara, Sasuke, and Kiba walked back over, just as Naruto came with the ice. "Here you go," he offered. Natsumi took it gratefully and pressed it against her face.

"Just relax Natsumi, we can handle it. We're two points ahead and there's only twenty minutes left in the game." Gaara told her, trying to ease her upset.

"We also get a penalty kick cause' of that prick." Naruto said. "So Sasuke's gonna take care of it, since he's the best at predicting where the goalie will lunge."

"I will humiliate him." Sasuke promised, nodding.

She locked her pale jade with his onyx and nodded. "Hit him where it hurts. I want him to feel pain."

Sasuke smirked. "Of course."

Gaara walked up as Sakura helped Natsumi up on her feet. She swayed a bit and Gaara heaved her onto his back to help her over to the benches. He set her down and gave her a small smile. "You did awesome today. Now it's your time to relax." He said, patting her head.

She laughed, giving him a smile back. "Thanks. Kick their butts." He nodded and headed back, as Sakura took a seat next to her cousin. Natsumi leaned her head back and pressed the ice against her face. "This sucks." She frowned.

"Well, the good news is that both Akito and Itachi are worried about you." Sakura said. "Akito even jumped the fence and was gonna run onto the field. I'm still not sure if his objective was to check on you, or punch the guy that hurt you, but either way, that's love right there."

Natsumi went a bit wide eyed and looked down removing the ice from her face. She glanced around Sakura and saw them both but then focused back on her cousin. "Love?" she blinked. "He's just over protective is all Sakura," she laughed, pressing the coolness against her nose once more. "Hah, love. That's funny." Though she couldn't help but feel something flutter in her stomach. Both Akito and Itachi had gotten up to check on her? She couldn't help but feel special.

Sakura shrugged. "If you say so, dearest cousin. If you say so."

By now Sasuke had gotten set up for his penalty kick. His gaze revealed nothing as he looked at the goalie, seeming to penetrate the other boy's soul with his coldness. It didn't matter that he was not the one who had hurt Natsumi, he was still on the same team as the boy who had. Remembering his promise, he formulated a plan. So, Sasuke took a deep breath and ran for the ball, appearing as if he would kick towards the goal. The goalie got ready to dive in order to block the ball, but what Sasuke did next was completely unexpected. He turned the angle of his run, looking straight at the blonde boy that was standing next to his coach by the benches, since he had been taken out of the game. Smirking evilly, he drew his leg back and kicked the ball with all of his might, hitting the unsuspecting boy in the nuts, causing him to double over in pain. This time, when the crowd cheered, it was louder than ever before.

The other team was yelling and pointing at Sasuke, their glare focused on the referee. He just shrugged, smirking a bit. "Sorry guys, I was still making sure poor little Natsumi was alright. I must have missed it." He glanced over at Sasuke and gave him an approving nod.

"Beautiful." Gaara smirked, bumping his shoulder against Sasuke's. The game continued and both teams scored one more time before the time ran out. Natsumi clapped from the side lines as they lined up along the midfield line and slapped hands. Though, no one from the Gakugei team hit the blonde's hand.

"Put some ice on your balls." Sasuke said with a smirk him as he passed.

Naruto snickered. "And don't worry, it can't possibly make your dick any smaller." The blonde just glared at them, but nobody cared.

With the game officially over, Akito hopped back over the fence and ran over to Natsumi. He stopped before her, giving her a concerned look. "How are you?" he asked.

"Hi Akito," Natsumi smiled up at him, keeping the ice on her nose. "Did you enjoy the game?"

He nodded. "You did wonderfully." He told her. "In fact, I-" before he could say more Itachi shoved him to the side.

"Oh my poor Natsumi. Tell me, how is your nose?" he asked, feigning concern for her well-being quite convincingly. When in reality he just hoped it wouldn't heal misshapen, that would completely ruin her beauty in his eyes.

Natsumi blinked and looked over to Akito and then back up at Itachi. "Oh I'm fine," she laughed, removing the ice from her face. "See it's already stopped bleeding." She pointed, touching her nose. It wasn't too bad and it looked perfect to anyone else, just a bit swollen.

Itachi smiled when he saw her face still looked flawless. "Well, I know of this great remedy for injuries." He said.

"What?" Natsumi asked, genuinely curious. Perhaps it was something they had yet to learn about in Clinical.

The eldest Uchiha leaned forward and pecked her lightly on the nose, causing her eyes to widen. "Mother always said a kiss makes hurts go away." He simply said, smirking down at her as he stood. Akito stood watching, fuming silently to himself. A dark blush spread across her cheeks, she was utterly speechless, as was everyone else near them.

"W-well it did make it feel different." She laughed, hoping she didn't sound too much like an idiot. She felt like she was about to start hyperventilating. There was just no way Uchiha Itachi was this sweet. Gaara walked up then, eyeing the eldest Uchiha carefully. He knew his game, since it was the same as his brother's and he'd be damned if he left either Sakura or Natsumi fall into the trap.

"Can I help you Itachi?" he glared.

"Now how could you think to help me, when you can't even help yourself?" he asked, arching a brow. Both knew he was referring to women, Sakura in particular. Sasuke came up then, glaring at his brother.

"Didn't father say he wanted you at the office at six-thirty? You'd better hurry, or you'll be late." He said.

Itachi reached out and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "Now what would I do without you Sasu-kun? Surely all hope would be lost." He said, before looking back at Natsumi. "Get better. I'll see you tomorrow." He said, stroking her cheek before walking away towards the parking lot.

"I hate him." Both Sasuke and Akito said at the same time, crossing their arms. They looked at each other then and scowled, both hating it when they did the same things.

Gaara just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms angrily. God how he hated their older generation. "Well, anyways, we're having a victory party over at my house. Sakura, Akito. You want to come?" he asked looking to the two. He didn't need to invite Sasuke and Natsumi, since they of course were the team and were always welcome.

Akito nodded, since he knew Itachi wouldn't be there, so it would be fine. Sakura smiled at him. "I would love to come Gaara." She said, standing.

Natsumi looked up at Gaara and sighed. "I don't think I should go…I'll probably just go home. Sorry." She sighed, placing the ice back on her face.

"Want me to take you home?" Akito offered, not really wanting to go if she wasn't going to be there.

"Oh no," she shook her head. "That's ok Akito, you go ahead and go and have fun. Toshiro will be there."

"Come on Natsumi," Gaara smirked. "It's your party too and your nose already looks much better."

She looked between them all and shrank a bit. "Yes, but I've nothing to wear. Only my school uniform and my soccer uniform."

"Hence why it's in an hour, so we can all go and change and shower up." Gaara said simply.

Natsumi huffed, "Fine, since there's no way out of it." She laughed and stood up. She did feel much better and she would hate to look so fragile to everyone.

"Alright, I'll take you by your place then." Akito said to Natsumi.

She blinked and looked up at him. "Ok."

Gaara glanced over at Sakura, thinking about his words. "Um Sakura, do you need a ride? We could swing by your house real quick if we need to."

Sakura blushed slightly in embarrassment. "That would be nice, but you don't have to. I can always just wear the cheerleading uniform if my house is too out of the way. You do have to set up for the victory party after all, and I don't want to be a burden."

"Please, Sakura." He smiled, shaking his head. "If Akito can drive there, so can I. It's of no consequence. You guys live in the same building, right? And the set up I can leave to the maids. That's what they're there for anyways. I've already called ahead." He nodded and then paused. "Unless…you want to wear it, because I can assure you no one would complain."

Her blush darkened. "Um, no, that's okay. I'd like to change." She said, smiling a bit nervously at him.

"Alright." He nodded and waved to the rest. "See you guys later." He said, walking off with Sakura towards the parking lot after he grabbed his duffle bag.

Akito looked down at Natsumi. "Ready?" he asked.

She grabbed her own bag and tossed the bag of watery ice in a nearby trash. "Yup." She nodded and then froze. "Wait, what time is it?"

He glanced at his watched and shrugged, "Seven after six. Why?"

"Nothing," she smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him with her towards the parking lot. "Let's just hurry."

He followed her to his bike, and after loading it with her bag and putting on their helmets, they sped off towards her apartment. It took them no time at all to get there, and when they did Akito followed her upstairs. She fumbled a bit with her keys and then pushed the door open, glancing around before letting him in. "Ok, we're good." She said, closing the door behind him and locking it. She slipped off her shoes and picked them up, taking them with her to her room. He did the same, but left them by the door, following after her.

"Well…this is my room." She laughed a bit, gesturing to the small space. "It's not much…but it's ok." It was a small but decent sized room with a full size bed. There was a desk, covered in paper and books from homework and a book case stacked and filled with all kinds of books.

There were two doors, one leading to a closet, he assumed, and the other to a bathroom. There was a full length mirror hanging on the wall, but other than that it was a simple abode. "It suits you." He said, meaning it as a compliment.

"Does it?" she wondered, tapping her chin. "Um." She paused. "You wouldn't mind if I took a quick shower would you, I'm all sweaty from the game."

He shook his head. "Of course not. I will wait for you in the living room." He told her.

"Oh no, no, no!" she panicked, shaking her head. "You." She pointed, grabbing his arms and pulling him over to her bed and sitting him down. "Will wait right here." She nodded, she couldn't risk her father coming in and seeing him. At least this way she could hide him.

"If you say so." He said, giving her an unsure look. He was really only trying to give her some space to get ready, but if she wanted him to stay in her room, he wouldn't complain.

"Good." She huffed. "Now don't leave this room, ok?" she pointed her finger in his face. She kind of liked this submissive behavior from him. She felt in control.

He crossed his arms. "Just go get a shower Natsumi. You smell." He teased, the corner of his mouth lifting a bit.

She gasped, her mouth falling open. "Well…you smell." She stuck her tongue out at him and then went into the bathroom, disappearing behind the door. He just shook his head, chuckling as he lay back on her bed.

It wasn't too much longer, since she had wanted to hurry, when she stuck her head out of the door, her wet hair was sticking to her face. "Hey. Close your eyes." She commanded, giving him a pointed look.

With a sigh he did as he was told, shutting his eyes. She waited for a bit, but then emerged from her bathroom, opening her closet and digging through her dresser. She glanced back once more, making sure he wasn't peeking and then let her towel drop to the ground. She slipped on her underwear and then started putting on her bra. Akito peeked one of his eyes open, he just couldn't help the curiosity that was burning through his body. He saw the smooth expanse of her back, littered with fading bruises. His gaze lowered to her pert rear, very pleased with its roundness and her choice in underwear. Once her bra was on she pulled out a black dress, sliding it up her sleek legs. When she turned, he quickly shut his eyes so that she wouldn't catch him.

"Ok," she chimed. "You can open your eyes now."

He did so, taking in her appearance. Her dress was black with semi-thin straps that connected in the back and went down to just above her knees, the hem made up of jagged triangles. The top scooped low across her chest, with two strips of cloth crisscrossing and then tying around her neck in the back. "You look nice." He said, though inwardly he thought she looked better without it on.

She smiled, lacing her fingers together happily. "Thanks," she said, picking up the towel and trying to dry her hair the best she could. She went back into the bathroom and blow dried the rest of it and brushed the tangles out. She put on some make up, just some eye liner and mascara, since she really didn't need a lot. Finally she came back out, almost running into him, since he had gotten up. "Oops." She laughed. "Sorry."

"It's fine. Are you ready to go? We need to swing by my house so I can change out of my uniform, if that's okay with you." Akito said, looking down at her.

"Of course, why wouldn't it be?" she said, grabbing her key and a small purse that matched. She slipped on some black flats, and then they left then, heading down the steps together. When they reached the second floor and she turned the corner to continue down the steps, she went wide eyed and backed up into Akito.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" a familiar, dark voice stabbed through the air.

Akito grabbed Natsumi's arm and pulled her so that she was behind him slightly. "There is a victory party being held, and Natsumi was invited." He said evenly.

The blonde glared at the boy who dared touch his daughter. "Excuse me you little Uchiha brat? Who the fuck do you think you are, she's not going anywhere."

"Akito…" Natsumi frowned, gripping the back of his uniform tightly, but then tried to get around him.

"That's right." The elder man snapped, a smirk appearing on his face. "Get over here."

Akito held out his arm to stop her. "Don't Natsumi." He said, glaring at the man. "He will only hurt you again, and I will not allow it."

She looked up at him, standing between him and her father. "Akito…I can't, he's my father." She tried to reason, though every bone in her body in her body was screaming at her to flee. She felt a tight grip wrap around her shoulder and tug her back.

"Stupid girl. It's a school night, you think you could just do whatever you want? You've been spending too much time with this boy." He spat, leaning closer to her ear. "He only wants one thing, who would like you anyways. You're just like your pitiful mother."

"Natsumi? Akito?" someone called from behind them then. Gaara and Sakura walked down the hall, slowing their pace when they saw the situation. The redhead's gaze lowered bit to the hand that was holding Natsumi painfully. "What's going on?"

Seeing what was happening to her cousin, Sakura walked until she was next to Akito. "Let her go. She earned the right to go out tonight by helping our school win the soccer game. Which, if you were a decent parent, you would know, because you would have come to support her." She said, crossing her arms.

"Shut up you little bitch. Don't pretend you are so high and mighty." Her uncle glared, pulling Natsumi closer, making her wince. "You're so worthless compared to my blood." He said harshly.

Sakura tried not to let his words hurt her. What was important right now was Natsumi. "Please. If my strict parents will allow me to leave the house in order to attend the party, surely you can give Natsumi the same courtesy." She said, softening her voice in order to try and persuade him better.

His hold on Natsumi dropped and he approached Sakura rapidly, raising his hand to strike her. She went wide eyed and shut her eyes quickly, but nothing came. When she peeked out, Gaara was in front of her, holding Natsumi's father's wrist. "You need to calm down." He said very seriously. This was just horrible. He couldn't believe such a happy girl as Natsumi could be the offspring of this vile man. He just couldn't stand to see either of his friends being treated like this.

He jerked back and glared at the redhead and then to Akito. "Hm. You're keeping bad company." He said to his daughter and then glared at Sakura. "An Uchiha and a Sabaku. Gold digging whores." He spat out and turned to leave. "You better be home before I wake up you useless tramp." He told Natsumi who just looked off. He went up the steps then, leaving the four in silence.

Akito walked over to Natsumi and placed his hand on her shoulder lightly. "Natsumi, are you okay?" he asked softly, searching her downcast face.

She glanced up at him and then away quickly. "Maybe I should just go home."

"If you go home now he's only going to hurt you some more." Sakura said. "Why don't you come with us to the party and have fun while he cools off? Besides, you look so pretty, it'd be a shame to waste the effort." She smiled slightly, trying to cheer her cousin up.

"I guess." She shrugged. Akito placed his hand on the small of her back and led her down the steps. Gaara glanced over at Sakura and when he was sure the other two were gone spoke.

"What the hell?"

She looked over at him. "I'm sorry you had to see that." She sighed. "My Uncle, and I use the term loosely, because we're not related by blood, has been like that since before I can remember. And it just got worse when Natsumi's mom died, because he turned all of his anger and hatred onto her."

Gaara frowned. "How did she die?"

She looked down sadly. "She committed suicide in order to get away from him." She said softly. "Her note said that she knew if she just left him that he'd come after her, and that only through death would she be rid of him." Sakura looked up at him, tears welled in her eyes. "I try to help Natsumi as much as I can, but it's really hard. And the courts won't let my parents adopt her because they don't want to take her away from her father."

"But he's a horrible person!" the red head snapped, getting angry. "He even tried to hit you!"

"There's never enough reason for them to do so. My parents don't make enough to hire a good enough lawyer, and he always makes sure not to beat her when a court appointment is coming up, just so that there aren't any bruises. And Natsumi's afraid enough of him to not say anything when put on the stand." She explained. "So, she has to wait until she turns eighteen and it's legal for her to move out."

The red head just groaned, running a hand down his face. This new information just angered him, aside from the fact that the bastard had even tried to go for Sakura. "Why is she so happy then, it doesn't make any sense."

"She doesn't want people to see how she's hurting. Besides, when she's at school and doing all of her activities and hanging out with her friends, she is happy. It's when she has to go home that she becomes sad." Sakura told him. There was silence after that and finally, Gaara sighed.

"Come on." He offered his hand to her. "Let's go."

She walked over to him and hugged him tightly, making him go wide eyed. "Thank you, for not letting him hurt me." She said softly, laying her head on his chest. He was shocked, since he had not expected that type of contact.

Finally, he hugged her back, "Of course Sakura. I would never let anything bad happen to you."

"I believe you." She said, smiling up at him. "We should probably get going now. It wouldn't do for the host to be late to his own party."

"Nope." He smirked and led her down the steps. "Time to enjoy the night."

* * *

Natsumi stood out on the balcony, overlooking the massive back yard of the Sabaku mansion. There was loud music coming from hidden speakers that seemed to be all over the house. Half the student junior body was there. People were swimming in the luxurious pool and the main rooms were filled with chatter.

She sighed, taking a long drink of her soda. It was such a bad idea to come here. Her father was upset and she just left. She knew she'd have to pay for it when she got home. She looked down and felt a smile tug at her lips, Sakura and Gaara were talking together and seemed to be having fun. They'd been almost inseparable all night. She definitely preferred Gaara over Sasori when it came to her beloved cousin. Sasori was hot and had that whole bad boy look and of course the title of heart breaker. But Gaara was kind and he really liked Sakura, any moron with eyes could see that. Well, aside from Sakura that was.

"I thought I might find you out here." Akito's deep voice said as he shut the balcony door behind him. After leaving Natsumi's they had gone back to his house so that he could change into a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Then they had come straight over to the Sabaku's, and somehow he had lost sight of Natsumi amongst all the people that were congratulating her and making sure her nose wasn't hurting her anymore. He had talked briefly with his cousin Sasuke, telling him that maybe he wasn't as lame as he'd originally thought, but that didn't mean that they were friends. Then he had gone in search for his missing friend, worried that perhaps Itachi had gotten his hands on her. She was very vulnerable right now, and he'd be damned if his lecherous cousin took advantage of it.

The pink haired girl glanced back, resting her back against the ledge. She smiled at him sadly, having to look up once he was right in front of her. "Am I so predictable to you?"

He smiled down at her. "Well, we are best friends, and you do like to eat lunch on the roof." He said, leaning against the railing next to her.

"But this isn't the roof." She pointed out, smirking a bit. "We're on a balcony."

Akito rolled his eyes. "Whatever, the point is that you like to be high up and outside, am I correct?" he asked, leaning towards her a bit in order to nudge her playfully.

She giggled softly and leaned towards him, staying against his side. "Well…there's no walls outside." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

He laid his head on hers. "Natsumi…I'm…glad that I met you." He said softly.

She actually laughed, moving her hand against his in a suggestive way. "I thought I irritated you and you liked silence. Plus you're always getting so worried cause I seem to endanger myself." She snickered.

"Yeah, but I guess that just means that I actually like you, and I care about you." He admitted, moving his hand so that his fingers were playing with hers. Now that he thought about it, he had never cared about a girl until he met Natsumi. For the most part he used them for what they could do for him, never feeling any remorse for doing so. After all, they didn't really care about him, only his family name and wealth.

Boldly, she pressed her fingers against his, slightly lacing them together. She could feel her stomach flip from the content. What was it about him that made her have these odd reactions to his touch? He was pretty average looking, though she sometimes thought if he just lost the glasses his image would be much more different. "I care about you a lot too Akito." She smiled, looking up at him and searching his face. As uncool and nerdy as he tried to act, there was something about him that just seemed…off. "I'm really glad you transferred over to our school."

"Me too." He murmured, resting his forehead against hers. What was he doing? He and Natsumi were just friends, and friends didn't look at each other the way she was looking at him. Friends didn't kiss.

Akito searched her beautiful jade eyes. But oh, how he really wanted to kiss her in this moment. It just felt…right. So, he changed the angle of his face, making it obvious to her what she wanted. He wouldn't kiss her if she didn't want him too, that was his rule. She tried to keep her nervous blush down, but every part of her body was reacting to what she saw coming. He was going to kiss her and she thought she just might. Crap. She'd never kissed anyone before. If he had, then would he know if she were terrible at it or not? What if she did it wrong?

Screw it.

She leaned forward a bit too fast, and due to her eagerness, accidently smashed her nose against his. She went wide eyed and literally screamed, dropping down to her knees and holding her hands over her nose. "OH god! Damn, damn! That hurt so bad!" she cried out, tears welling in her eyes from the agony. Nearly everyone down on the patio was staring up at the raised level, only able to see Akito.

Ignoring the stares, he squatted next to her, placing his hand on her back. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get you some ice or something?" he asked, concerned. This was probably a sign that he should keep his relationship with Natsumi strictly on a friend basis. In fact, he couldn't even believe he had been so close to ruining their friendship. Because if they got into a relationship and it went bad, as all of his relationships did, then he didn't know if they would be able to stay friends or not.

She shook her head, leaning into his hold, not able to meet his gaze. She must look completely stupid now. She wanted to hit herself. She'd just missed her first kiss and now probably freaked Akito out. She sighed and frowned, staring at his arm. She couldn't get up for fear of meeting his gaze, and right now she wouldn't be able to stomach the embarrassment. "I'll be ok…" He helped her up then, and the two of them went inside, where there would be more light. Akito wanted to get a better look at Natsumi's nose, just to make sure that it was alright.

Down on the deck, Sasori watched with narrowed eyes. He flipped out his phone and scrolled through the contacts finding Itachi's number. He pressed the call button and pressed the cell to his ear. When he heard his friend's bored tone he spoke, "Get over here. Now. You're about to lose your pure little blossom." He said and then hung up. He didn't need to say anything more. Itachi would be here in less than fifteen minutes.

He headed towards the front and made small talk with a few people he found tolerable, until he saw his dark haired friend enter through the front. He dismissed himself from the group and stopped in front of him, gesturing up the steps. They walked, silently, until they reached Sasori's room and went in. When the door was shut, Sasori let out a deep sigh. "Akito almost kissed Natsumi.

Itachi frowned. "Hm." He said, crossing his arms. "It seems I am going to have to warn Akito off once more. Though, I will have to use different tactics than I previously did. It seems physical violence and verbal warnings do not work on him."

The elder red head nodded. "Luckily, they bumped noses and it messed the whole thing up. It didn't look like they were going to try again. But these little ones in our family seem to need taking care of. Gaara has gotten oddly brave around my pretty little pink parade."

"Yes, it seems we will have to take drastic measures." The ebony haired man nodded, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps, the best way to drive them away from our prizes would be to make the girls think badly and doubt them." He suggested, looking at his friend. "Because if a woman has doubts, there's no way she'll allow herself to feel anything for him. That's just how they work."

A slow smirk crept up Sasori's face. "That's absolutely genius Itachi."

"Thank you, I try." He said with a small bow. "Unless I see another reason to do it tonight, I may just wait and get Natsumi alone during lunch tomorrow. It's the day that Akito always eats lunch with Toshiro, so I should be safe."

"No," Sasori shook his head. "The dance is only a two days away. Do it there when you have her in your arms and eating out of the palm of your hand. The next few days just invite her to be with you instead of Akito." He suggested. "Once you get the kiss, it's all over for your little cousin."

He nodded. "Good point. So what are you going to do about Gaara?" he asked, curious.

The red head scoffed, "Simple. All I have to do is bring Matsuri back into the picture. That girl is so psychotic. Sakura will want nothing to do with Gaara. Especially, since she brings out the worst in him. It'll be a ticking time bomb." He smirked.

"I knew there was a reason we were friends." The elder Uchiha said.

Sasori snickered. "Of course, plus it's good business."

"Exactly." He said with a smirk.


	8. Dance

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Eight_

-Dance-

Sakura applied her mascara and then stepped back to get a better look at herself in the full length mirror that hung on her closet door. Natsumi had come over earlier to get ready, and they were both putting the finishing touches on their looks before Itachi and Sasori arrived to get them. She was very pleased that her mother had taken her out shopping for a dress, and was glad to have found a cute one that wasn't too costly for her parents.

It was made of a silky red material that went to just above her knees. The top had a sweetheart neckline that showed only a little bit of cleavage, nothing too inappropriate, and had two thin straps. It was bunched together on the top portion that covered her breasts, and just below them was a small band of white silk. It flowed freely past that, and had three layers of the red material, making the dress poof out just a bit. She had bought some strappy red heels that laced up past her ankles, and a small handbag to match. Her hair was curled in ringlets, with her bangs clipped back by beaded bobby pin, so that it looked like it had pearls on it. She had decided not to wear a necklace, instead only a pair of pearl earrings to match the band of white on her dress, and had only applied eyeliner and mascara to her face, since she really didn't require all that much makeup.

Turning to look at Natsumi, who had been using the large mirror on her vanity, she smiled. Her cousin's white dress was absolutely perfect for her, and Sakura was glad that Akito had been kind enough to help her purchase it, even though he wasn't the one taking her to the dance. She knew there was something going on between her cousin and the stoic Uchiha, but since Natsumi insisted that they were just friends, she didn't bring it up. Natsumi had just finished clipping half her hair up. It had just the right amount of volume due to the way she straightened it. She picked up a box and opened it, pulling out a beautiful diamond necklace. Itachi had bought it for her the day before, saying that she deserved nothing but the best. She put it on and walked up to her cousin, grabbing her own matching clutch.

"I'm kind of nervous." Sakura admitted, blushing slightly. This would technically be her first date, and it was with a handsome senior no less. She was afraid that she might do something that will make her look like an idiot.

"Don't worry Sakura," she smiled brightly. "You look drop dead gorgeous. Everything is going to be perfect."

"I hope so." She returned her cousin's smile. The doorbell rang then, and both girls went slightly wide eyed. "They're here!" Sakura whispered excitedly, rushing out of her room and to the front door, Natsumi close on her heels. They looked at each other and took deep, calming breaths before Sakura reached out and opened the door to reveal Itachi and Sasori. "Hey guys." She greeted, smiling.

They were both wearing tuxedos, gorgeous smirks on both their faces. Sasori had on a white shirt beneath his jacket, a rich, solid red tie tied around his neck. He stepped towards Sakura, offering her a beautiful corsage made with a rose, surrounded by tons of baby roses. "You look stunning." He breathed out, leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek, just where her neck and jaw met.

She giggled, holding out her left wrist for him to place the corsage on it. "Thank you. You look very handsome."

Itachi stepped through the doorway and towards Natsumi. He was wearing a nice black dress shirt underneath his jacket with a silky white tie to match Natsumi's dress. In his hand he had a corsage made with a white rose and baby's breath that was sprayed lightly with sparkling silver, with black ribbon around it. "You are absolutely gorgeous Natsumi." He said, taking her hand in his and kissing it.

Natsumi blushed, watching him tie it around her wrist. "Thanks." She whispered out.

"Oh, picture, picture!" a pink haired woman ran out, squealing excitedly. The two boys were so incredibly handsome. "You must be Sasori and Itachi. I'm Sakura's mother." She smiled, offering her hand to them.

"A pleasure." Sasori gave her a low bow, taking her hand and kissing it. "I see now where Sakura has received her immaculate beauty."

The elder woman flushed. "Oh he's a keeper honey." She said, looking to her daughter.

"Mom." She groaned, rolling her eyes in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

Itachi bowed as well. "It is nice to meet you Mrs. Haruno."

"Okay, okay. Now Sakura, you and Sasori stand next to each other." Her mother said, motioning them with her hand. They took up their spots and Sasori rested his hand on her hip, pressing her body against his. Sakura smiled for the picture, a light blush covering her cheeks. Once the photo was taken the elder woman turned to Itachi and Natsumi. "Now you two." Itachi pulled Natsumi against him and smiled as he lightly ran his thumb against Natsumi's hip. She blinked and glanced down at his caressing hand, an odd look crossing her face for only a moment. But it was something Sakura couldn't have missed even if she was partially blind. Natsumi placed her hand on Itachi's stomach and smiled brightly, appearing just like her normal self.

After all, Itachi was one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen, and he was taking her out on a date, and then going to dance the night away. It was perfect. And she was happy, really. So why was there an odd tingling in her stomach? Not like butterflies…it was something else.

"Alright everyone stand together so we can get a group shot." Mrs. Haruno said, her face still hidden by the camera. Sasori and Itachi moved together so that they were in the middle, with Sakura and Natsumi on the outside. A few more pictures were taken before the elder pink haired woman was satisfied. "You kids have fun now. Sakura, if you and Natsumi are going to stay out late just send me a text. I finally figured out how to open them." She declared with a triumphant smile.

"Yes Mom, I will." Sakura said, waving as she and Sasori walked out the door. The pink haired woman looked at Natsumi.

"You have fun honey." She said, smiling at her niece. "And you take good care of her." She pointed to Itachi.

"Of course. Natsumi deserves the best." Itachi said with an easy smile. This was just too easy.

* * *

The limo ride had taken them to the most prestigious restaurant in the district. When they went in they were greeted and seated. Natsumi glanced around the place and smiled excitedly, "I've never been here before. But I've always wanted to go." She laughed. "But Akito said they were too pompous for his liking and that the crab was less than three stars, so it did not deserve our presence."

Itachi raised a brow at her. "Yes, well, Akito was not raised with some of the finer things in life, so he wouldn't know." He said.

She blinked and looked over at Itachi, since she was sitting next to him. She felt the subject was the wrong thing to talk about in given presence, so she just shut her mouth and looked off, trying to be silent. After a bit, Sasori cleared his throat and turned his attention towards Sakura. "So Sakura, you looked amazing during the soccer game. You should be a cheerleader."

She blushed slightly at his compliment. "It's not like Natsumi hasn't tried to get me to join the squad, but I don't know…I'm already so busy."

"Please," the redhead scoffed. "Natsumi is a cheerleader and on the soccer team and in clinical, is she not. I don't see how it could be a problem." He grinned, giving her an endearing look that hid his crocodile smile. "I'm sure one of your caliber is capable of much more than you allow yourself to do. Much more." He winked.

"I will consider it." She told him.

Itachi looked at Natsumi and pasted a look of concern on his face. "Speaking of soccer, how is your nose? It's not still troubling you, is it?" he asked.

Said girl shook her head, touching it gently with her finger tips. "It's better, it healed pretty fast and it wasn't completely broken. He was a pretty weak kicker."

"That was a pretty nasty hit, but you took it like a man." Sasori snickered.

She blinked and looked at him oddly. "Um, thanks? I guess."

They ordered their food then, and over dinner conversed lightly about a few random subjects. Both girls thought it odd that mostly the subjects were them and some of the things they did, since neither were used to so much attention being lavished on them. Finally, their dessert was delivered and Sasori stuck a fork in one of the fluffy pastries, drizzling chocolate over the warm bread. "So Natsumi, you sure talk about Akito a lot."

Natsumi laughed a bit awkwardly. "Well…he is my best friend."

"It is just odd that you do, that is all. Akito doesn't talk about you that much at all." Itachi said nonchalantly, getting his own pastry. Sakura gave the elder Uchiha an odd look, but didn't say anything, deciding to eat her dessert as well.

"He…doesn't?" she asked, her happy expression falling right off her face and was replaced with one of confusion. But she and Akito did almost everything together. At least she thought they did. Suddenly her chest felt hollow, maybe he didn't think of her as highly as she thought of him.

The elder Uchiha shook his head. "Not really. In fact, your name never really comes up in the conversations that I've had with him."

Sadness overwhelmed her, but she hid it well. "Well, who cares." She said simply, steeling her emotions and picking up one of the pastries and shoving it in her mouth.

Pleased with his work thus far, Itachi finished eating his dessert, exchanging a knowing look with Sasori. Once everyone was done eating they paid the bill and then got back in the limousine. The drive to the school didn't take very long, and when they pulled up, a pleasant sight awaited them.

The way to the massive activity hall had been decorated and lit up with sparkling lights that reminded people of summer, and fake snow, for winter. Itachi and Sasori led their dates to the room, which had various decorations and streamers hanging from the ceiling, with balloons, and a buffet table. There was a place for the couples to take pictures at, and a large chocolate fountain over in one of the corners. The deejay was already playing music, and couples lined that dance floor and sat at some of the tables.

Minako and Toshiro came up to them then, both with happy smiles on their faces. "Hey guys!" Minako greeted. Her dress was dark blue, and had two large triangles for the top that hooked behind her neck, with a cloth of an even darker blue between them, to cover her ample chest. A long piece of the cloth wrapped around her waist, tightening the dress, and the rest flowed loosely down to just above her knees, making the dress look like water. She wore a pair of elegant blue flats with her dress, and her hair cascaded down her back in waves, part of it pinned away from her face. "What do you think?"

"It looks amazing Minako!" Natsumi gasped, detaching herself from Itachi's arm and hugging her friend. "And my, my Toshiro, don't you look nice. I see you clean up well." She smirked, poking the redhead in the chest. He was wearing a tux as well, with a dark blue tie to match Minako's dress.

"Hey!" he laughed. "I always look nice." He smirked, the expression leaving his face when Itachi walked up behind her and placed his hands on her hips. "Oh yeah, forgot you were coming with…him."

Sasori walked up then, with Sakura on his arm like a trophy. "Calm yourself little brother and don't be so rude to your elders." He smirked and then turned his gaze to Minako, or more so on her chest before her face. "And you look very lovely Minako."

She beamed at him, ignorant of where his gaze had been. "Thank you Sasori-sempai. You look nice as well." A new song started to play then, and Minako gazed up Toshiro. "Want to dance?" she asked.

"Oh yes." Toshiro nodded excitedly, leading the Hyuuga off to the dance floor and beginning the intricate steps. Sasori offered a hand down to Sakura and flashed her an inviting smile.

"Would you like to dance, beautiful princess?"

"I would love to." She said, returning his smile and taking his hand as he led her onto the floor. Itachi looked at Natsumi and bowed slightly.

"May I have the pleasure of this dance, my dearest Natsumi?" he asked, giving her his most inviting smile.

She stared at him for a moment and then smiled, he was so flattering. She placed her hand in his and then placed her other on his shoulder. He set his free hand on her hip and began to lead her through the dance, which just happened to be a slow one. As the lights dimmed a bit to add to the atmosphere, Itachi leaned his head down closer to her so that they could hear each other when they spoke.

"You look absolutely enchanting." He complimented.

"Thank you," she blushed, avoiding his gaze. Sure she had stalkers and they did creepy things to show their affection and obsession, but this was different. This attention was so much more focused. At least it wasn't something gained from afar. "You look very handsome."

He pulled her closer to him, making the dance a bit more intimate. "It is a shame that we are not in the same grade. That way I would get to see you more often. I envy Akito the amount of time he gets to spend with you. He does not realize how lucky he is."

Her blush darkened, not used to such intimate contact from anyone. She was beginning to feel nervous, but that was a good thing right? That meant things were progressing in the right direction with Itachi, didn't it? She leaned into him, knowing that was what she was supposed to do in this situation. He was so warm and firm, so flawless in so many ways. "Well, we've spent the last two days with one another. After school and what not."

"Yes, but my days would be so much better if I could see you all the time." He said, spinning her and bringing her back to him, only it was closer than before.

She tried to laugh, but it sounded a bit awkward. "I don't think you would enjoy that. I might start to annoy if I was around you all the time. Besides, doesn't it then make this time all the more special?" she arched a delicate brow, trying to keep the conversation light as he pressed himself into her.

"True. You know, your wit is one of the things I enjoy about you Natsumi. It's so refreshing." He lowered his hand on her back a bit, so that it was just barely innocent. Her stomach dropped once more, in the odd way it had before. Why was it so different than with Akito on the balcony? She knew she enjoyed Itachi's touch, but it was just…lacking something.

"Thank you, at least you notice something other than my looks and my body." She giggled softly.

Itachi smiled at her, successfully masking his smirk. Odd how she thought he noticed more, when really all he did care about was her looks and her body. But whatever, it only meant that his plan was working perfectly. "I notice them alright, after all, it is hard not to see the image perfection that you are. But to me, it is the mind that shows true beauty. And yours is beautiful." He said, lowering his voice so that it sounded like velvet.

She felt a shiver run up her spine and looked up, meeting his dark gaze. She felt like she was having déjà vu. The scene from the hallway was popping into her mind once more. He had the same look on his face as he had then. So…he wanted to kiss her? She wondered idly what it would be like to kiss Uchiha Itachi. Should she let him? Akito's face flashed across her mind and she hesitated, even Itachi could feel it. But then Itachi's words rang in her head. Who cared? What did it matter what he thought anyways. After all, according to Itachi, Akito didn't really think of her that much. So, she shouldn't waste thoughts on him.

Natsumi focused back on the man before her. The gorgeous, tall, slender senior who had given her a night of dreams. Uchiha Itachi. That was the only thing she needed to think of right now. Sensing her inner decision, Itachi slowly leaned his head down until his lips met hers in a soft kiss. He didn't want to scare her off just yet, after all. The more serious kissing would come later, when he felt she was more open to it.

She let her eyes close slowly and leaned into him, pressing against his warm lips. They were so soft and they were so inviting, almost tender. It was odd, her first kiss. She thought it would be better than this. She broke from him barely, just to take a breath. Maybe if she tried again, it would spark something. She leaned up once more, initiating the kiss and trying to deepen it. She could feel the heat from his lips but that was it. She made sure not to frown, since it was still nice and he was really hot. She just hoped she was doing it right and he wouldn't laugh about it later.

Encouraged by her actions, Itachi wrapped his arms around her and ran his tongue along the seam of her lips in invitation. It mattered not to him if she allowed it, for she had already exceeded his expectations. He could now say that he'd taken the little princess' first kiss.

Sasori glanced over, his chin resting on Sakura's head. He smirked when he saw his friend's progress. That little brat Akito was so close to being out of the game it was as good as in the bag. He contemplated on hinting a kiss, but knew Sakura was a bit more foundation than that. Natsumi was full of inner conflict, which made her susceptible to smooth words. But she was so unpredictable in her emotions, it could mean something good one moment and tragedy the next. Sakura on the other hand was level minded and he would have to slowly win over the girl. But it would be easier once his surprise arrived on Monday. And he was a patient man.

"I'm so glad you changed your mind Sakura, I am having the most wonderful time with you."

She smiled up at him. "Me too. I'm glad that you asked me to come. I never would have asked anyone."

He shook his head and sighed, "Any man would have died to go with you. I'm glad you didn't ask anyone, besides, a woman should be asked. It's a man's job to show his care." He said, letting his words fill her mind. He would prune this beautiful flower and then have it all to himself. One of the most satisfying flowers of all time, after all, virgins were the most pleasurable.

She blushed at his words. "You flatter me Sasori." She said, looking away shyly.

"I try," he snickered, trying to keep it light. The rest of the night went smoothly and the later it got the more the crowd thinned out. It was a wonderful dance and everyone seemed to have had a wonderful time. Natsumi sighed and crossed her arms.

"I don't want to go home yet." She pouted.

Sasori gave Itachi a knowing look and smirked, "Well we could always go to my house. We could watch a movie in my home theatre."

Natsumi gasped and smiled brightly. "Oh that's right! I forgot about that, it's better than the actual movie theatre!"

"You have a home theatre?" Sakura asked, shocked. She'd never even thought such a thing could exist, but then again, she knew virtually nothing about the world of the wealthy.

"Oh yes." Sasori said, offering his arm to Sakura. She took it and they started towards the door with Itachi and Natsumi close behind. "You'll love it." He promised, making sure his devious look stayed hidden. Itachi just smirked, it was now time to initiate the final phase of his plan to destroy any and all chances Akito had of stealing Natsumi away from him.

* * *

Gaara, Sasuke, and Akito all sat reclined in the theatre chairs. They had already watched three movies and had made up a game of finding shapes in the ceiling design. "I wonder how the dance is going…" the red head said, sounding bored. He frowned then, "I bet Sakura looked really pretty."

"I definitely know Natsumi looked pretty. I was there when she bought her dress." Akito sighed. "If Itachi tries anything with her I swear I'm gonna kill him."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You two are hopeless."

"I'm not hopeless. My ass of a brother is trying to have sex with Sakura!" Gaara huffed and crossed his arms angrily.

"If you had just asked her to go to the dance when you had the chance, this wouldn't be happening. You know her better than most people Gaara, you had to know that she wouldn't have asked anyone on her own." The young Uchiha pointed out.

The red head sat up and glared down at his friend. "I know that. I was going to ask her, but I never anticipated Sasori would try and go for her. It was an unexpected complication." He snapped and then looked back when the door to the room opened. Sasori walked in, leading the other three. They were all laughing as if the eldest Sabaku had just said something hilarious.

They stopped and Sasori feigned surprise. "Oh I forgot you three were having a little pouty pity party here tonight." Natsumi's eyes instantly focused on Akito. She felt a raw ache in her chest, but then looked away remembering what Itachi had said. She just needed to keep it cool.

Akito sat up and glanced up at the group, noticing Itachi's arm around Natsumi's waist. He looked up at her face, slightly confused about why she wasn't looking at him. "You look magnificent Natsumi, just as I knew you would." He said, wanting to compliment her.

"Doesn't she though?" Itachi said, tightening his grip slightly. "And she is an exceptional dancer." He said, smiling down at her.

She looked extremely uncomfortable with both situations. Which didn't make any sense. She shouldn't be uncomfortable with Itachi in front of Akito. But she was and she hadn't seen him that much in the past two days since Itachi had been unusually active with her. "Thanks…" she said softly, staring at the ground.

Gaara gave them a worried look but then saw Sakura, since she had come in last. "Hey Sakura," he said, giving her a small smile. "Wow you look really, really nice. Did you have fun?"

She smiled at him, blushing lightly. It was odd. Sasori made her blush as well, but for some reason Gaara's compliments made her feel different. It was as if he meant them on a deeper level than his elder brother did. But she wasn't entirely sure, so she let it go. "Thanks Gaara. I had tons of fun, Sasori kept me busy on the dance floor all night. I don't think my feet have hurt this badly in a long time." She joked, since she wasn't used to wearing heels.

He tried to keep his mood light, since he didn't want to kill his brother in front of her. "Well I'm glad, you want to come and sit down here. We can watch a movie or something."

Sasori stepped in front of Sakura, glaring down at his younger brother. "Now, now Gaara if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to steal my date." The two glared at one another silently, until Natsumi spoke up.

"Well, I'm going to grab something to drink anyone want something?" she asked.

"Water would be great, thanks." Sakura said, glad for the temporary distraction. She didn't understand what was going on between Gaara and Sasori, but she wasn't entirely comfortable with it.

"No thanks." Sasuke said, content to just watch the silent fighting between the other four men.

Itachi walked forward and sat in the row behind Akito and everyone else. "No." he said, leaning back in his chair. Akito shook his head in a silent negative. She sighed and turned around then, leaving the room and off to the kitchen. Gaara watched her leave and then gave Akito a hard stare, before focusing on Sakura. "So what do you want to watch?"

"Shouldn't you all be leaving?" Sasori sighed, growing very annoyed with the younger ones presence.

"Shouldn't you have a disease already?" Gaara snapped back.

"You wish." The elder smirked, successfully making Gaara angrier.

Sighing, Akito rose and walked towards the door. "And just where are you going?" Itachi asked, raising a brow.

He glanced at him over his shoulder. "To take a piss." He lied, leaving the room. He quickly went downstairs and caught up with Natsumi, who was in the kitchen.

"Natsumi, did I do something to upset you?" he asked, stopping in the doorway.

Said girl glanced over, closing the fridge and setting two bottles of water on the island. "No…" she lied, trying not to let it show. "Why would you think that?"

"Well…because you're acting different. We haven't really gotten to hang out the past couple of days, and you wouldn't look at me a few minutes ago. Either I did something wrong, or you're trying to tell me you don't want to be friends with me anymore." He walked up to her then, pure worry showing on his face. "Will you please just tell me? The truth would be better than not knowing."

"No! I want to be friends with you," she said quickly, going wide eyed and seeming panicked. She wanted to be his friend. That's why she had tried so desperately to get him to like her in the first place. "Well…it's just," she paused and frowned. "I guess I thought that I was really important and I found out I'm not as much as I thought, it kind of made me sad. I'm sorry though. It's fine." She waved her hands in front of her face and went a bit red from embarrassment. "Don't worry, I'm sorry. I'll stop acting so weird."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean, not as important? You're the most important thing to me in the world. I may have family left on this earth, but none of them know me as well as you do."

She went a bit wide eyed and stared at him, disbelief apparent on her face. "Really?"

"Yes. What made you think any different?" he asked, stroking her cheek in a tender fashion. He couldn't stop himself. She just looked so innocent and soft right now, and he was curious about what her skin felt like. It had only grown when he'd watched her get dressed.

She closed her eyes and felt a smile come to her face. His touch sent shivers up her spine and she could feel the heat rising in her body. She looked up at him and lifted her hand keeping his against her cheek. "Well…I guess I was talking about you a lot, since whenever I do something it's with you. And Itachi said that…you don't ever talk about me."

He gave her a tender look. "That is because I am a very private person. You and Toshiro are really the only people I hold conversations with, you more so than him. And I don't ever talk to Itachi or Sasuke unless I have to. So, whereas what Itachi said was true, it does not mean that I care about you any less." He rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

"Oh." She said, feeling completely foolish now for thinking such things. She opened her mouth to tell him what had happened at the dance but stared past him. "Itachi?" She blinked.

Akito dropped his hand and turned to look at his elder cousin, who wore a completely blank expression, which was not a good sign. "I was just coming to see if you required my assistance in carrying anything Natsumi, since it was taking so long. But I can see now my assistance is not needed." His cool gaze turned to Akito. "You know, there are plenty of bathrooms upstairs. You walked by three."

"My mistake." Akito answered, not intimidated in the least. Though, he was suspicious, because he knew that Itachi would retaliate in some manner, it was just a question as to what he did.

"Oh I'm sorry Itachi, it was my fault. Akito and I were just resolving something that's all." She smiled at him, lacing her fingers together.

Akito nodded. "Yeah, we should head upstairs." He looked at Natsumi. "Come on." He said, holding out a hand to her. This would be a true test for her. Would she take his hand, or go to Itachi and walk with him up the stairs. Idly he wondered if Natsumi even knew what her decision would say to both Uchiha men, but figured she wouldn't. Uchiha were known for keeping people guessing and in the dark, and it was rare when their true intentions were seen by their 'opponents'.

Natsumi glanced down at his hand and then up at Itachi. She smiled and took Akito's hand, walking over to Itachi and holding out her hand to him as well. "Come on then Itachi, let's go upstairs." She said sweetly, looking far too alluring with her innocence.

He raised a brow at her. "Aren't you forgetting the water bottles?" He asked, looking at the two bottles sitting on the counter and then back at her.

"Oh yeah." She laughed, turning a light pink. She released Akito and walked over, taking the water bottles and walking back over to them. "Mmk, let's go." She said, heading past them and into the hall.

They followed her up the stairs and back to the home theatre. Sakura had somehow wound up sitting between Gaara and Sasori, since she wanted to sit next to her friend, but also next to her date. Sasuke had moved to the back row, so that he could just watch all the events unfold. "Here you go Sakura!" Natsumi smiled, walking down the steps and tossing it over to her. She took a seat in the row in front of them and glanced back at the two Uchiha's who looked like they were about to murder one another with their glares.

Itachi walked to the row Natsumi was sitting in and sat next to the pink haired girl, placing his arm on the back of her chair in a sign of possession. Akito, wanting to make sure he didn't try anything, sat on her other side. "You know Akito, this situation reminds me of that time you tried to steal my girlfriend." Itachi commented lightly, leaning back in his seat and hiding his triumphant smirk.

"Shut up Itachi." Akito said in a low warning.

Natsumi blinked and glanced at Akito and then looked over at the elder a bit curious. "Huh?"

"Yeah," Gaara said, leaning a bit forward with Sakura. "Huh?"

Akito crossed his arms. "I did not try and steal her from you. You don't have girlfriends Itachi. You have lady friends, and once you're done with them they become nothing more than a memory." He said.

Itachi chuckled. "So you say, cousin. But I actually liked Kyoko."

"Whatever. She was nothing but a gold digging whore anyways. Not to mention a cougar."

"Whoa what?" Natsumi asked, looking at both of them a bit wide eyed.

"Sure. Just like you don't want the whole Mutineer thing brought up either." The eldest Uchiha said, rolling his eyes. "Bunch of punks."

Sasuke sat forward on his seat. "Hey now Itachi. Nobody wants that brought up. You remember what mother said."

"Yes, I remember." Itachi shrugged. "So what?"

"So you need to shut your mouth." Akito practically growled. Natsumi just looked between the two and sat back in her chair, feeling like she was caught in a cross fire that wasn't going to end well. And she didn't exactly like the way this conversation was turning out. Her mind was racing with odd thoughts. It seemed like there was a part of Akito she had no idea about.

"I don't understand. What is he talking about Akito?" she asked, looking at her now angered friend.

Akito looked at Natsumi. "Just the past. It's not important."

Itachi made what sounded like a snort. "I would say that what gave you the only scar you have is pretty important."

Gaara tried not to seem interested in the matter. But Akito was so mysterious, that he couldn't help but lean forward, as Sasori did as well. The elder Sabaku was always curious to new information. "Scar?" Natsumi's brow furrowed and she looked between the cousins. "What's going on? What are you guys talking about?"

Itachi smirked, the question giving him full reign of the truth. "That Akito has been lying to you since he met you. This…is not how Uchiha Akito truly is, aside from the smart ass silent act."

Natsumi went slightly wide eyed, but knew now to get both sides. She looked at Akito, almost accusingly. "Are you lying to me?"

"I have never lied to you. There are just things that I haven't told you about me." He said, turning his brooding gaze to Itachi. "Things that are not your place to say."

"I just think you should have told her by now, especially since you two spend so much time together. You never know, little cousin, the past may come to haunt you, and it would be best if she knew." Itachi said, making it appear like he was concerned for Natsumi's well-being.

Her frown turned into a grimace. "Things like what?" she demanded, she just couldn't believe there was this deep, dark side of Akito she had no idea about.

"Things like the time he got arrested, or, better yet, when-"

"Itachi if you so much as say one more thing I swear I will kill you." Akito said, standing and glowering hatefully at the eldest Uchiha.

"And things like that." Itachi said, a self-satisfied smile on his face.

Natsumi stood as well, becoming a barrier between the two and glaring up at Akito, something she had never done before. "So you _are_ a liar! And don't say you aren't because lying comes in many forms." She snapped pushing past him and heading up towards the steps. "I want to go home. Now." She said, though it was Sasuke who got up and looked back at her.

"I can take you. Sakura you want a ride as well?" the brooding Uchiha asked, glancing down at her. He wanted to leave anyways, this tension was becoming unbearable for even him, and he knew Gaara was feeling the same.

"I'll walk you guys out." Gaara said with a sigh, standing up.

Sakura stood and looked down at Sasori. "Thank you for a wonderful evening." She said with a small smile. She had enjoyed everything up until they had come back to his house and this weird tension that was practically visible appeared between him and Gaara, and especially the one between Itachi and Akito.

Natsumi glanced back, getting one last at the two, but mostly focused on Akito. She grabbed her clutch and walked out, with Sasuke and Gaara following after her. Sakura closed the door, leaving the three inside. Sasori got up then, walking around the rows and coming behind Akito, trapping him between Itachi and himself. "You're really starting to irritate." He said darkly, all amusement gone from his expression.

Akito turned and looked at him. "Why? Because I'm not just trying to use Natsumi so that I can get into her pants? You two sicken me."

Itachi stood and crossed his arms, his gaze unreadable. "At least we don't let people think we're something we're not. And if they can't figure it out, then it's their own fault."

Finally, Sasori smirked, placing an unwanted hand on Akito's shoulder. "Oh Itachi, I know why Akito here doesn't want sweet, sweet little innocent Natsumi to know about his dark history. She won't like him anymore. After all, I heard a story myself," he leaned down a bit, whispering into Akito's ear. "After all, you're an abuser…just like her daddy. Only slightly, slightly different. She would totally hate you if she found out you did anything physically harming. After all she goes through."

Akito stiffened, completely shutting down. "You don't know what you're talking about. You weren't there." He said.

"Doesn't matter. People believe what they want to believe Akito, despite what the truth actually is." Itachi said in his other ear. By now, the youngest Uchiha just felt trapped, and he no longer wanted to be around them. He shoved past his cousin and walked to the door, opening it harshly and storming out of the room.

"Well, I think that went exceedingly well." Itachi said to his best friend, smiling devilishly.

The redhead nodded and looked to him. "That was a two in one, don't you think? Now Akito is put in his place and Natsumi is against him. You're welcome." He snickered, elbowing his friend.

"Yeah, yeah." Itachi said, waving him off.

There was a moment of silence before they glanced back at the massive screen and then at one another. "So?" Sasori began.

"Skin flick?"

"You know it."

* * *

Sasuke, Gaara, Sakura, and Natsumi stood outside, waiting as the Sabaku's personal valet went and fetched Sasuke's car. "Well," Gaara said, trying to break the silence. "You both look very beautiful tonight. I hope you had a fun time."

Natsumi just had her arms crossed and was glaring at the grass. She was in no mood to make small talk. She couldn't believe Akito. How could he pretend to be someone he's not and think he wasn't lying? She didn't even know the real him, and the fact that he wasn't even going to tell her only aggravated her more. Sakura smiled at Gaara. "I did, thanks. I wish you went, we could have danced together." She said.

"Yeah well…" he huffed. "I didn't exactly have a date, and the girl I wanted to go with went with someone else." He said, staring at her for a moment before glancing off. It wasn't too much later when a jet blue Audi R8 drove up. The man stepped out and offered Sasuke the keys.

"Here you go sir." He bowed and then left.

"Thanks." He said, walking around to the driver's side. Akito came out the front door then, and when he saw that Natsumi was still there, he walked up to her.

"Natsumi, listen-"

She turned around, her anger bursting out in just a few words. "No. I do not want to talk to you right now." She snapped, crossing her arms and daring him to try.

"But, if you'd just let me explain-" he tried once more.

"No!" she held up her hand silencing him. "Why on earth would I listen to you? You're a liar."

Akito sighed. "It's not like I wasn't going to tell you, but there are some things about me that you don't just casually bring into a conversation." He told her.

"Uh, I can think of _plenty_ of times where anything could have been mentioned. I mean it's not like we haven't talked about depressing things before." She almost yelled, not really paying any mind to their audience.

He became solemn. "It's not really depressing so much as it is horrible. You would never see me in the same light again if I told you. I was waiting for the right time to bring it up."

"Oh really?" she leaned forward, her glare turning icier. "Because if I would never see you in the same light, it sounds an awful lot like you were just going to go on with your whole ruse."

By now Sasuke had started the car, and Sakura had said her farewells to Gaara and gotten in. The red head just left the two, not wanting to get in between another fight. There was too much drama in their class. Natsumi just sighed and had her head in her hands, "You know what, I don't want to talk about this anymore." She frowned backing away. "I'll see you Monday."

A look of pure worry came to Akito's face. "Can I…see you some time this weekend?" he asked, since he hadn't seen her all that much this week to begin with. On top of that, he knew things would not be good if he waited until Monday to talk to her. She would only be madder, since she'd have had so much time to stew about it.

Her expression changed slightly. She didn't want to, but she did at the same time. As mad as she was, he was still her friend, and maybe he would be more inclined to be open if they were alone. But she sure as hell wasn't going to his house where Itachi and him could start trying to rip each other's heads off once more. "Fine." She said sharply, setting her hands on her hips. "You may see me on Sunday. My father always goes out gambling and doesn't come back till the early morning hours. If you are there at exactly twelve o'clock, I will let you in. But the second it turns twelve o' one, I'm locking it, and I don't care how many times you knock. Understand?" she said, arching a delicate brow.

"Yes." He said with a nod. "I will be there. I promise." He said.

"Alright." She nodded and huffed. They stood there for a moment and she looked like she was in turmoil. With a sharp breath she hugged him tightly and then hurried into the car. She buckled her seatbelt and Sasuke took off, driving towards their part of the city.

Akito watched them disappear around the corner, and then went to get his motorcycle. He had explained to the valet that nobody but him was allowed to drive it, and so had parked it off to the side in the driveway. Putting on his helmet, he got on his bike and sped towards his home, not wanting to be awake when either of his cousins got home.


	9. Truth

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Nine _

-Truth-

Natsumi sat on her living room couch, watching the clock tick away slowly towards the twelve. She had her knees brought up to her chest and was still wearing her pajamas. They were tight black yoga pants and a black tank top that fit her form perfectly. She tapped her fingers on her knees and waited. Why was she waiting? Why was she sitting there, counting down the seconds until Akito came or didn't? She sighed and leaned back, resting her head on the back of the couch. She watched the ceiling, but found her eyes wanting to check the time.

It was nearly twelve. Only forty three seconds away. She got up, walking over to the door in her slippers and grasped the knob. After she finished the countdown in her head, she took a fortifying breath and opened the door, seeing Akito just about to knock. He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a red t-shirt that clung to his body nicely.

A bit flustered, he lowered his hand. "Can I come in?" he asked.

"I dunno, what time is it?" she asked, acting nonchalant.

He gave her a pointed look. "Well if you wait any longer it will no longer be twelve, because I was about to knock when it turned twelve on the dot." He said.

She leaned against the door, barricading the entry way with her leg, pressing her foot against the other side of the frame. "Is that so?" she shrugged, pretending to be interested in her nails.

"You know, if you want me to leave, all you have to do is say so."

She stopped her charade and gave him a small glare, walking into her apartment and crossing her arms, leaving the door open. "Fine. Leave. I don't care." She lied.

He walked until he was standing in the doorway, leaning against it just as she had only moments ago. "Really?" he raised a brow. "Then I suppose you don't care to hear about my past."

It was obvious that she tensed. "It's your choice." She said simply, not facing him for fear he would see through farce. She headed to her room then and disappeared into it without shutting the door behind her.

Sighing, Akito entered her apartment and shut the front door. He walked back to her room, seeing the she was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall. He sat down on the edge, gazing at the floor. It was quiet for a few minutes, until Akito finally spoke up.

"At my school in Kyoto, I wasn't exactly the nicest person." He began.

"I figured that much." She sighed, finally looking at him.

Seeing that she was open to listening to him, he continued. "Even though I was living with my Aunt, who loved me very much, I was still bitter. I didn't understand why I had all these relatives, and yet none of them wanted me. The only reason I ever met Sasuke and Itachi before now was because my Aunt Mikoto wished it." He sighed. "So, I joined the most prestigious gang in the area, the Mutineers. We weren't a petty gang, most of the things we did were highly illegal, but never violent. For the most part all I did was give strategic advice to the leader on how to handle certain jobs and the other gangs in the area." He stopped then, wanting to give her time to react to what he was telling her. She just stared at him, making sure she controlled her facial features. She wanted to hear everything, so she couldn't judge him. At least not yet.

"As one of the higher ups, it wasn't really all that hard for me to always be in the company of a woman. And I'm not even going to go into details about that." He said, running his hand through his hair. "But it wasn't a very fulfilling life. And when my Aunt became sick, she needed me around more in order to help out, since she wasn't born an Uchiha, we lived in an apartment then, and it wasn't really one of the best. Most of her paycheck went to make sure that I could go to the private school in the area." His expression turned dark then. "But when you're in a gang, you can't just leave it. There are certain trials that you must go through. I won't tell you everything I had to do, but in the last part, they wanted me to rape this random girl they had taken off the street. She was so terrified." He said in a whisper, pain evident on his features.

Natsumi gulped, she felt her numbness spreading the more he spoke. She was too afraid to ask about the details, but she really wanted to know. Didn't she deserve to know? Finally, she found her voice, "…Did you?"

He looked at her, appearing broken. "No, I would never." His gaze lowered to her sheets, since he felt he wasn't worthy of looking into her eyes. "When I told them that, they got angry, and threatened to hurt her if I refused. I begged them not to, but when Fuzen, the most brutal member, usually used to torture members from other gangs, walked towards her with a knife, I snapped. I don't believe in harming women, but he took a sick pleasure out of it." He took a deep breath. "We fought then, and that was when I got this." He lifted his shirt, revealing a long scar on his side that went from his hip, to just below his ribs.

"I understand what it's like to be around someone like that…" she reminded him, hugging her knees to her chest. "So…you've…had sex." She stated, but needed more affirmation than his hint.

He lowered his shirt, still not looking at her. "Yes."

"A lot?"

"Not really."

"But you said you were always in the company of them…don't lie to me." She threatened, her grip on her knees tightening.

"It wasn't a lie. We didn't always have sex…there are other ways to be physically pleasured without…doing it." He said, a hint of a blush appearing on his cheeks. "And even then, sometimes I was only with someone for show, and we never did anything."

A dark blush of her own covered her cheeks. She rested her chin on her knees, trying not to picture it. "So why are you pretending to be…well, whatever you were pretending?"

He looked at her. "When Fuzen and I fought, I could have killed him. He was sent to the hospital, and stayed there for two weeks, while all I had was a few bruises and this cut. After that fight, they let me out of the gang. But I was so shocked, I thought I was a monster. But…my Aunt said that I saved that girl from a terrible torture, and that I was a hero. I wanted to believe her, tried really hard to, in fact. I just…felt like I had let her down, and that to me was the worst thing."

"Well you shouldn't have joined in the first place. That was pretty stupid right off the bat." She pointed out, "I mean, was it just because you thought no one wanted you?"

He sighed. "I thought that if I acted out, I would somehow gain my other family's attention. I didn't realize that I had enough from my Aunt." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And so, after she died, and Mikoto and Fugaku took me in, I thought that this was my chance for a clean slate. I could start over, live the life that I should have all along."

She gave him a hard stare. "You were never going to tell me, were you?"

"Not at first, especially after I met your dad. I thought that if I told you, you wouldn't want anything to do with me. Who would, knowing the things that I've done?" he asked. "But then I thought about it yesterday, and I realized that if I didn't tell you, you wouldn't ever trust me, and if I told you and you didn't want to be friends anymore, then perhaps we weren't truly meant to be friends."

"You," she paused and gave him a contemplative look, as if she might say something endearing. "Are totally retarded." She said, rolling her eyes.

Akito gave her a surprised look. "You mean, after everything I've done, you still want to be friends?" he asked, his voice full of hope.

She grabbed her pillow and hit him in the face with it, glaring at him. She got up from the bed then and went over to her closet, pulling out a soccer ball. "If you _ever_ lie to me again, or keep something from me I will shove this soccer ball so far up your ass that you won't be able to walk right for the rest of your life. Understand?"

He nodded vigorously, knowing that she was telling him the truth. "Yes ma'am." He said, actually afraid of her.

"Good." She smirked, holding the ball between her hands tightly. She tossed it over her shoulder then and walked up to him standing, with her hands on her hips. "You've never been afraid of a girl before have you?" she asked, still smirking. She could tell by the look on his face that this was something new to him.

He stood, so that he was taller than her, and their faces were no more than an inch apart. "I've never been afraid of anyone before."

Her smirk grew, not intimidated by his height. "And now you are."

"So. A little fear is healthy in a person." He smirked. "I guess that just means that you're good for me." She laughed and moved a bit closer to him, pulling at the hem of his shirt. Her smug look fell then and she glanced up, looking curious.

"So…" she began, fumbling more with the fabric of his shirt. "Did you like…having sex?"

He gave her a considering look. "Well, of course I did. It feels great. But, in my honest opinion, it never meant anything. I believe, that when you sleep with someone important to you, that you care about, it can honestly be called making love." He said, searching her face.

She released her hold on him and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "You sound super cheesy." She smiled.

The corner of his mouth lifted. "Only around you." He reached out a hand and ruffled her hair, making it messy.

She huffed, pouting and puffing her cheeks out like a little puffer fish. "Don't make me hurt you Uchiha Akito." She poked his stomach, giving him a few more jabs.

Akito laughed, his entire face lighting up in merriment. He was so happy that he had told her about his past. He felt like he could fully be himself around her, and not have to worry about what she thought of him. "Careful, I might like it." He joked. She laughed and shrugged, finally looking a bit worried.

"But, you're not bad anymore right?"

He sobered instantly. "No, not anymore. I guess you could say that I'm trying to make up for all the wrongs I ever did before, so that in death, I can make my Aunt proud of me."

"I'm sure you will." She nodded and then tackled him onto the bed unexpectedly. "Now smile! I command it, I've seen you sad too much for one day!" she said laughing as she hugged him tightly and rested her head on his chest, since he was on his back.

He smiled, returning her embrace. Then he leaned his head down and kissed the top of her head. "You're the best person ever Natsumi. I hope you know that." She smiled happily, propping her elbows upon either side of him, resting her chin on her hands.

"Well I try." She snickered.

"You do a great job." He smiled up at her. It was difficult not to physically react to what their position was doing to him, and he was glad that he had experience enough to control himself. His hands slid down from her back until they were resting comfortably on her hips. There was a moment where he almost leaned up to kiss her, but then he remembered that he only wanted to be friends with her. A relationship with him would just ruin things for Natsumi, since he wasn't a healthy person to be with. "Do you want to go see a movie? I'm not sure if there's anything good out, but we could always go check."

"Or we could just watch a movie here. I get pretty bored during the summers so I've stocked up over the years." She said giggling, leaning down and kissing his nose sweetly before getting off of him. "And we can order out or I can make you something," she continued on speaking as she left the room.

He got up and followed her. "I'd like that. That is, if you _can_ cook." He teased. "Otherwise I would be happy to make you something. I'm an excellent chef." He said with a self-satisfied smile.

She waved him off with a scoff. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that rich boy. Leave the cooking to the commoner's." she said, trying to hide her laughter. "It would be terrible if you burned your credit card hand."

"That's okay, then I can just use my debit card hand." He said, holding up his left hand.

"Oh ho, ho. We got us here a big spender folks." she announced to the empty apartment, sticking her tongue out at him before she went into the kitchen. It was just across the living room from her own bedroom and it wasn't too large. Plus you could see into the living room through an opening in the wall, which made it seem a little bigger.

Akito followed her until he was standing in the door way of the small kitchen. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, watching her as she pulled out ingredients. "Look at you, being all domestic." He said with a smirk.

"Aw look at you, being all conceited." She countered with a smirk of her own. She walked towards him waving a frying pan in his face, pointing it towards him accusingly. "And you thought I wouldn't like the real you." She said smugly, leaning closer to him so that their lips were only centimeters apart.

"So? It was a completely rational concern." He said, pressing his forehead against hers. He searched her eyes and let out a small sigh. "You know, I could marry you." He said. Her stomach had dropped from the contact alone, and then his words almost made her knees give out right under her.

"Huh?" she replied brilliantly, a dark, cherry red blush spreading across her face. "I mean," she shook her head a bit, getting a grip on speech. "Well of course, you are supposed to marry your best friend after all." She said smartly, as if it were simply a mathematics question of finding the right variable.

The corner of his mouth tilted up. "True. So how about it? In ten years, when we're done with high school and college, and have stable jobs, if we aren't seeing anyone, would you marry me?" he asked. It seemed perfectly logical to him. She made him feel things nobody else could, and he knew that if he spent the rest of his life with her he would be happy. And so would she, because he would spend every day making her feel special.

Her light mood fell and she tried not to look hurt. Did that mean that if he couldn't find anyone by then she would be his fallback? "I'll think about it." She said, turning away from him before her face could portray any of her inner thoughts. "So what do you want to eat?" she asked, keeping her back to him as she rummaged through the fridge.

His brow furrowed. He could sense her mood change and wondered what was wrong. Coming to only one conclusion, he asked, "What did I do?"

Natsumi straightened up and looked over at him, closing the fridge. "What do you mean?"

"You're upset about something. And don't lie, because I can tell." He said.

"I'm not upset," she huffed, angry from being caught.

He crossed his arms and raised a brow at her. "Oh really? Because it seems to me that you are. What did I say to upset you?"

She gave him a small glare. "Nothing," she exasperated, turning away from him once more. She would not lose to him this time. Her will was strong, she could out last him.

His gaze narrowed. "You know, for someone big on people tell her the truth, you don't seem to be very inclined to give others the same courtesy."

"Uh, well the two _huge_ differences in this scenario are that I'm not keeping something like my past from you. And it's not important ok? So just drop it." Her glare increased.

"If it's something that I did in order to upset you, it's important to me. Okay?" he told her. "I can't fix it if I don't know what's wrong."

She groaned and smacked her forehead angrily. "I don't want to be your fallback, ok! There. You happy now?" she snapped, turning away from him and pulling out a knife as she began to cut up some vegetables.

Now that he knew that was what was bothering her, he sighed. "Natsumi, what ever gave you the idea that you would be my fallback?" he asked. "The only reason I said if we weren't seeing anyone else, was because I wanted to give you the chance to meet other people. I will probably still be alone, because I don't like people. I can literally count on one hand the people that I actually care about." He said, holding up his right hand for emphasis.

"Yeah, but," she turned a light pink. "If you want to marry me, I want it to be because you really want to." She said, fiddling nervously with the frying pan.

He shrugged. "Why would I want to marry anyone else?"

She huffed, crossing her arms. "So I'm your only option? What if _I_ don't want to marry you? Huh? What about that!" she pointed at him accusingly.

He blinked, somewhat taken aback by her response. "Then…don't." he said, not really sure what else to say.

"Don't?" she practically shrieked. "So you _don't_ want to marry me?" she glared, setting her hands on her hips in an angry fashion.

"Oh my God!" he said, throwing his arms in the air. "What is wrong with you? I _just_ said that I wanted to marry you. And when you asked me about the chance that you wouldn't want to marry me in return, I told you not to. It's perfectly logical." He said, placing his hands on his hips.

Natsumi only grew angrier, picking up a wooden spoon and swinging it in his face as she approached him. "Oh, oh, ho no. There should be nothing logical about it. No one wants to get married because it's logical." She growled out, hitting him on the forehead with the spoon.

"Okay, fine! Then forget everything I just said." He said.

She pressed the wood against his skin, beneath his jaw. "This isn't a courtroom Akito, you can't just strike things from the record. That doesn't even make sense. So do you want to marry me or not? Not because it's logical, or because you don't like anyone else, but because you want to. Hm? Well?"

"Well of course I want to marry you, that's why I brought it up."

She looked a bit annoyed. "Why do you always have to do that?"

"Do what?" he asked, now growing more confused.

"Answer and then add on some pompous unnecessary comment that just makes you sound like a jerk." She said, her expression turning a bit sad.

He reached out and stroked her cheek, sighing. "I'm sorry. I want to marry you because I care about you, you make me smile, laugh, and you make me happy. I like to spend time with you, can actually have conversations with you, and I look forward to seeing your beautiful face every day." He told her.

She finally smiled, placing her hand over his and keeping it there. "See. How hard was that?" she snickered, leaning closer to him.

"It was so difficult." He said, making a pained face, though it was fake, and she could tell.

She moved her hand and placed the spoon on the counter before wrapping her arms around his waist tightly, pressing her body against his and resting her head on his chest. She smiled, listening to the quick beating of his heart. "I bet you really liked it," she teased, snickering.

He chuckled, wrapping is arms around her and rubbing her back comfortingly. "Yes, I like being able to tell someone my inner most thoughts and feelings."

"Good," she snickered, pulling away from him and going make to making lunch. "So how does grilled cheese sound?" she asked, glancing back at him from the fridge.

"Delicious." He said with a smile.

"Mmk. You can go and pick a movie and start it up, and I'll make the sandwiches." She said, pulling out some cheese and beginning to heat up the frying pan.

"Alright." He went into the living room and looked at her selection of DVDs. Scanning them, he finally found one he liked and pulled it out, getting it started in the TV. By then Natsumi was finished in the kitchen, since grilled cheeses don't take that long to make, and brought them out into the living room, setting them on the coffee table before quickly grabbing two glasses of water. Akito sat down on the couch and made himself comfortable, watching her as she got everything situated to her liking.

Natsumi sat down beside him, folding her legs under her and leaning against his side. She offered him his plate and looked forward towards the television as she took a bite of her grilled cheese. "Oh I love this movie!" she smiled brightly, as the title came onto the screen.

"Me too." He agreed, wrapping his arm around her as he ate his sandwich with his free hand.

They watched the movie, putting another in once that one had finished, and spending the entire day on the couch. By the time it was dark outside, Natsumi had already fallen asleep with her head in Akito's lap, and he had dozed off with his hand resting on her hip.

She stretched, waking up a bit and staring at the menu screen for the movie that they had watched last. She glanced up at Akito's peaceful face and sat up, moving over him, somewhat sitting in his lap. She examined his cheeks and poked one, liking how he looked when he slept. She lowered her gaze to his lips, thinking about the night she had almost gotten a kiss from him. She touched the tip of her index finger on his lower lip and leaned closer, her forehead pressing against his.

She wondered what kissing Akito would feel like. She had received a kiss from the elder Uchiha, and it was…nice. But she felt things when she touched Akito. If their lips met, would it be even more heated? She blushed a dark red. What kind of thoughts were those to have about her friend? She assumed after the fact he hadn't tried it since, he didn't want to, and maybe she should keep his wishes. She didn't want to force him into anything.

He stirred a bit, slowly opening his eyes and looking up at her. He wished he could look at her without his glasses on, but they were necessary for his ruse. The corner of his mouth lifted a bit, and he brought a hand up and stroked her cheek tenderly, tracing her lips with the pad of his thumb. She was really pretty, and he found himself wishing that he had gotten to kiss her that night at the party. But she hadn't indicated that she wanted one, and he was trying really hard not to turn their friendship into something physical.

"Akito…" she breathed out, she couldn't take not knowing anymore. She wanted to feel his lips against hers and test her theory. "If something happened…right now…could we pretend it never did once it's over?" She asked, resting both her hands on his shoulders, caressing his neck with her thumbs.

He brought his hands to her hips and placed them there. "So, if I kissed you right now, it wouldn't change anything? We could still be friends?" he asked softly, completely relaxing into her touch.

She nodded, moving her hands up his neck slowly and holding his head in her light grip. "Just like it never happened." He cupped her cheeks with his hands and leaned towards her. He looked into her eyes before gently touching his lips to hers in a soft, tender kiss. She felt her heart literally stop with their contact and then suddenly burst to life with rushed beatings. She could already feel herself becoming more eager and pressed fully into him, opening her mouth slightly and touching his lips with her tongue. It was like an explosion of heat, so much different than her kiss with Itachi.

At her obvious invitation, Akito opened his mouth and stroked her tongue with his own. This was completely new to him. He had kissed tons of girls, and been with plenty of women, but in all of that, he didn't feel half of the heat and sensations that he felt with her. She lowered her hands, smoothing them down his firm chest until she reached the hem of his shirt and then snuck her digits between the fabric and his body, touching his bare abs for the first time.

He brought his hands back down to her hips and pressed her more fully against him, rubbing her hips once she was in place. Needing air, he pulled away for a moment, both breathing harshly, before kissing her once more. He just couldn't seem to get enough of her, but he was going to get as much use out of this moment as he could.

Their heated moment only grew as their make out session continued. She shoved him down onto the couch, straddling his waist, never breaking contact with his lips. She wanted more, something she didn't feel when she had kissed Itachi. She wanted his mouth on every part of her body, caressing it in the manner she was so accustomed to. She moved her kisses from his mouth and trailed them along his jaw, then to his neck just below his ear. His whole body stiffened when she bit him softly, leaving a small red mark on his neck.

"Natsumi." He said breathlessly, his grip on her hips tightening. "If you keep doing this I don't know if I'll be able to control myself."

"So?" she said against his neck, continuing her ministrations. "This never happened, remember?"

"Minx." He said, beginning to kiss a trail along her neck until he reached her earlobe, and bit it softly. She let out a soft moan, gripping onto him tightly. She'd never felt anything like this before. Ever. He made her feel alive and cherished, almost like he needed her, just as much as she needed him. Both of them stiffened, going a dark red when Akito's phone began to vibrate between their bodies, since it was in his pocket.

Natsumi reached her hand between their pelvises and dug her hand into his pocket, making his mind go far off. She pulled out the phone and answered it, trying not to sound as breathless as she was. "Hello?"

'Akito, darling?' an older woman's voice came. Natsumi lowered the phone and looked at the number seeing the name Aunt Mikoto.

"Uh no, this is Natsumi."

'Natsumi?' the woman questioned. 'Is Akito there? It's getting pretty late and it's a school night. He should be home.' She said, sounding a bit strict, but kind.

"Yeah, but he's kinda busy. Can you talk later?" the pink haired woman smirked, lowering back down and kissing just beneath his jaw. Akito groaned and took the phone from her, pressing it against his ear and holding it there.

"Yes Aunt Mikoto?" he asked, trying to hold in another groan as Natsumi nibbled on the juncture where his neck met his shoulder.

'Oh my god Akito! Are you having sex? You better get home _right_ now! This is…this is…oh no! You shouldn't be doing such things!' she rambled out, sounding extremely worried and angry at the same time.

"I will be home shortly." He said before shutting the phone, effectively ending their conversation. He slid his hands up her sides and then back down, sighing as he looked up at her. "She wants me to come home." He told her sadly.

"So?" she asked, clearly not interested, pushing his shirt up and revealing his toned stomach.

He chuckled. "So, if we were to continue this, I wouldn't be able to please you to my liking. And, since I suspect you haven't slept with anyone before, if we continued I would want it to be special for you. It's your choice." He said, slowly sliding his hands up her flat stomach.

She jerked back from him, pulling his hand down from her stomach. "Whoa, who said we were going to have sex?" she snapped, growing slightly alarmed.

He sat up. "I'm sorry, I just thought-" he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't really know what I thought. You're making it very difficult for me, actually."

She turned a dark red and fidgeted with her fingers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…I just wanted…I don't know…I'm sorry." She said again, bowing her head apologetically. "I forgot that such things really turned men on. Not that I wasn't!" she waved her hands in the air, hoping he hadn't taken that the wrong way. "I was but I, I don't know, I'm sorry." She shook her head quickly. "I'm going to stop talking now."

He gripped her chin gently and lifted her face, looking into her eyes and smiling at her tenderly. "It's okay Natsumi. I'm fine now. But, I should probably be going. My Aunt gets really worried. You should meet her someday, I think you'd like her." He said.

She nodded and got up, walking him over to the door after he had grabbed his phone and keys. She stopped at the door and glanced up at him. "So, thanks for coming over today and telling me…about yourself. It really meant a lot."

"I'm glad. And…thank you, for not hating me after I told you about it. You'll never know how much it meant to me." He said, brushing some of her hair out of her face. She smiled, enjoying the last of his presence.

"Well it wouldn't exactly be fair if I hated you for something you did a long time ago. I just don't like to be lied to, so make sure you don't do it okay?" she said, wagging her finger in his face before touching his lips with the tip.

He smiled against the small digit. "I promise." He said kissing it, since technically this was never happening.

"Good." She perked up, removing her finger from his lips and quickly replacing it with her own. She pulled away quickly, before it could progress, and opened the door for him. "Bye Akito, see you tomorrow at school." She waved before shoving him out and closing the door. She fell back against the door, sliding down a bit, her face turning red. That was more amazing than she had thought it would be. She started giggling, holding her face in her hands. "Oh my God." She squealed, locking the door and then running back to her room to shower and get ready for bed.

Akito walked down the stairs and to his bike in a daze. He put on his helmet and started it up, and then just sat there for a few moments. "Oh my God." He said in total awe, before revving the engine and pulling away, off to go home. He knew they weren't supposed to ever speak of it, since it technically never happened, but he would think of this moment every day, probably for the rest of his life.


	10. Stalker

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Ten_

-Stalker-

Akito was sitting at his desk, trying not to think about what had transpired the day before. Toshiro walked in, a brilliant smile on his face. He sat down in the seat next to Akito, since Natsumi was up and talking with Ino and Sakura about trivial things. "Hey man!" he said, giving him a small punch to the arm. "How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or _exciting_?" he snickered, elbowing his friend a couple times.

"Nope. I did nothing of the sort." He answered shortly, schooling his expression so as not to give anything away.

"Really?" his smile fell and he looked disappointed. "Aw, well that sucks man. So you didn't go to the dance and you did nothing? But I did hear about your fight with Itachi. What was that about?"

"Hello Toshiro," Natsumi's beautiful voice sang. "Hey Akito," she smiled, giving him a small wave.

"Hiya Natsumi, how was your weekend?" the redhead asked curiously.

She looked to Toshiro and thought about it, "Well the dance of course and then Akito came over yesterday and we watched a whole bunch of movies." She said happily, giving the Uchiha another winning smile.

"Is that so?" Toshiro pondered and then gave Akito an accusing look.

"Yup. That was pretty much all I did over the weekend." Akito said, not bothering to explain why he hadn't said anything about his weekend to Toshiro earlier. "What did you do Toshiro?" he asked, not wanting the subject to be on himself anymore.

He seemed to perk up at the topic, "Well the dance was amazing. Minako and I had a wonderful time and then we hung out all day Saturday. She's really great. I'm so glad she asked me to go with her. We're actually going to go to the mall later today."

"Aw that's wonderful Toshiro! I'm so glad you had fun. So did you kiss her?" she asked curiously, placing both her hands on the black table and leaning forward.

Toshiro blushed slightly and scratched his cheek, "Well, just a small one." He said, making a small measurement with his fingers. "Though I hear that I wasn't the only one that got some action." He snickered, making Natsumi go wide eyed and glance over at Akito. "Yeah, Sasori said that Itachi kissed you at the dance."

Natsumi's blood turned to ice in her veins. Akito stiffened and slowly brought his gaze up to meet Natsumi's. "Is that so? Tell me, Natsumi, how was it?" Akito asked as he crossed his arms, his voice scarily calm. Only Natsumi could tell that he was angry.

"Now Akito, it wasn't like…what didn't happen at all. It was nothing, just a kiss. It didn't mean anything at all." She said quickly, turning paler by the second.

"Like what didn't happen?" Toshiro blinked. "What?"

Akito glanced at his friend and then looked away. "I'm not sure what she's talking about." He said.

Natsumi frowned, since Akito would no longer look at her. She grew a bit angry. How could he be mad at her? It didn't mean anything, and like he had a right to be angry with her for not telling him one tiny little thing. But before she could say anything, there was a loud shriek that got everyone's attention to the front of the room.

There in the doorway was a young brunette, with dim brown eyes that were focused on one person alone. "Oh my GOD! Gaara! I found you!" she screamed, sounding like a fan girl for a boy band. She was dressed in the girl's uniform and the symbol on her tie showed that she was a freshman.

The redhead turned and went completely wide eyed. "Oh. My. God. Matsuri? How the hell did you find me?" he demanded, actually looking scared.

Sasuke tackled him to the ground, covering the upper half of his body with a bag. "Evasive maneuver number five!" Kiba ran to Gaara's head, and he and Sasuke picked him up together, running out of the room using the other door in the back.

"No! Come back here with my husband!" the girl yelled, chasing after them. Everyone was just wide eyed and absolutely perplexed.

"What…" Ino began. "Just happened?"

"I have absolutely no idea." Sakura said, staring at the door that Gaara had left through. What was she, some ex-girlfriend or something?

Toshiro was up and standing, looking extremely alarmed. "How the hell did she get here? She's supposed to be in Peru!"

"Who is she Shiro-kun?" Minako asked.

"That's some crazy stalker that's been in love with Gaara for like, four years. She lives somewhere near Okinawa, near one of our mansions. But we don't go there anymore, because she started getting real obsessive and crazy." He explained.

"So Sasuke, Kiba, Gaara and I came up with multiple escape routes in case this ever happened, but we never thought we'd have to use them." Naruto explained to the entire class.

It was then that Kakashi walked in, reading his book. "Kakashi-sensei!" Toshiro exclaimed, slamming his hands on the desk as the silver haired man sat down. "This is a code blue! Class needs to be dismissed!"

He glanced up, sighing. "That crazy girl is here? I thought you had her shipped off to Peru last year in an iron cage."

Naruto ran up to the man's desk. "Yes, sensei! She came here and we had to evacuate Gaara ASAP! Please cancel class, he needs our help!" the blonde boy exclaimed.

"Whatever." He said, returning to his book. "I don't care. New class project. The pair who catches the stalker gets a homework pass and a free one hundred on their next test." He said, gesturing for them to pair up. Ino slapped her hand on her desk and gave Sakura a look.

"Let's go hunting Sakura!" she pointed off, standing.

She sighed and stood. "I'll get a one hundred anyways, but let's go." The two left the room then. Naruto grabbed Hinata.

"Come on Hinata-chan! Let's go, otherwise I'll fail the test!" he shouted, dragging the flustered girl out of the room.

Toshiro turned to Minako and gave her a nod. "Time to save Gaara!" he declared, grabbing his bag and leaving with the stuttering girl. Natsumi glanced over at Akito, who was still seated and hadn't moved.

He stood silently and picked up his bag, heading for the door of the classroom. When he got there, he looked at Natsumi. "Coming?" he asked, opening the door. She did the same and followed him without a word. When they were gone Shikamaru sat up, looking around sleepily. "Where did everyone go?"

"I dunno." Kakashi shrugged, turning the page in his book.

* * *

"Akito…I was going to tell you…" she finally spoke after there had been silence between the two. He had gone straight to the roof, not really caring enough to search the school for some girl. And this way he could talk to Natsumi alone. He turned to her, his eyes guarded.

"When? After you finished comparing me to my cousin? To Itachi?" he asked, his hurt showing through his words.

His posture put her on edge as well and she glared back. "Are you really going to hold this over my head? It was like a day, and for the record you big fat jerk, I was going to kiss you first if you don't remember. What was I supposed to do?" she demanded, throwing her hands in the air. "Say 'Oh thanks for telling me about all those girls you've slept with, by the way your cousin and I kissed.' Or maybe you would have preferred, 'I know that we're making out and everything but I just wanted to tell you that I like kissing you a whole lot more than your cousin, who by the way I shared a kiss with.'" She snapped.

"You liked kissing me more?" he asked, sounding surprised.

She just stared at him, trying not to groan. "No Akito, I just got on top of you and pressed my body against yours because I didn't like it." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "When I kissed Itachi it was nice and all but there was just…nothing. And he tried to deepen it, but it just felt odd and I didn't want to."

He walked over to her. "I'm sorry, it was just…a bit of a shock." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know…I'm not really good at explaining things, especially when it has to do with feelings." It was true, for the most part. And, all in all, he wasn't entirely sure how he had felt. Angry, for sure, but there was more to it. He had felt…betrayed. Used. But he didn't want to think about why he had felt those things, because the discovery would most likely change the way he thought about Natsumi, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that.

"I mean," she began with a loud huff. "I still kissed you and no offense but if we compare lists, you kinda take the cake."

He crossed his arms and sighed. "Don't remind me."

"Then don't be mad at me." She pointed out, giving him a stern look. He returned the glance and sighed once more. "Hey." She smiled, stepping up to him and gripping his uniform. "If it makes you feel better," she breathed out, getting up on her tip toes and giving him a quick kiss. "When you kissed me, I might have let you take me all the way around the world."

He placed his hands on her hips. "I wouldn't have just taken you around the world, I would have showed you heaven." He said, placing his forehead against hers. She giggled, placing her finger over his lips.

"You'd have to be gentle, I'm still a little white flower."

"I wouldn't dream of treating you otherwise, you are, after all, extremely important to me." He said with a smirk.

She smiled. "As you are to me."

* * *

Gaara ripped the bag off his head and sighed, looking around the AV room that was above the gym. "This is horrible. How did she escape?"

"I dunno man," Kiba sighed, pulling down the blinds a bit and peeking out to make sure they weren't being followed.

Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned against one of the tables. "What's worse, is this could ruin your chances with Sakura. Especially if Matsuri gets wind of your feelings for her." He pointed out.

The redhead went wide eyed. "Oh God, she'll try and kill her." He panicked and headed for the door only to be stopped by Kiba.

"Dude where are you going?"

"I have to make sure Sakura's okay. It's not like it's a secret that I like her." he snapped at his friend, shoving him aside and throwing the door open. He ran out and almost collided with a blur of pink. "Sakura!" Gaara went a bit wide eyed and looked around, "Come on we need to get you safe." He said, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from Ino.

Sakura just blinked. "Huh?"

"Hey!" Ino shouted. "That's my partner Gaara!"

He threw open a door and dragged her in, slamming it after them and locking it from the inside. They were pressed closely together, since the space was small, and happened to be the janitor's closet.

Sakura blushed darkly at their close contact. "Gaara, what's going on? Why do I need to be safe?" she asked, confused.

"Because Matsuri will try and skin you alive." He said, looking around the closet to make sure it was secure. He was trying to find a light switch as well so they would no longer be in the dark.

"Why?"

"Because she's psycho." He said, trying not to get annoyed with the fact he had to explain himself.

"But I don't know her." She said, not really understanding everything that was going on.

Finally he found the switch and the small room was illuminated with a soft, low light. "She just will, okay? Stop asking questions." He said, resting against the wall.

She crossed her arms and pouted, leaning against the opposite wall of the closet. "You know, we'll have to leave eventually, we do have other classes to go to." She said, not wanting to be late.

"What? You've never skipped before?" he smirked.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Are you asking me to skip with you? But, my perfect attendance, and there could be an important lesson…" she stopped, her brow furrowing a bit. "Oh screw it, I didn't really want to go to class today anyways, and Natsumi will take notes for me." She said, smiling slightly at him. She didn't know where her sudden rebellion was coming from, but the thought of getting to spend the whole school day with Gaara alone appealed to her greatly, so she decided to go with that.

"Great." Gaara said, actually giving her a small smile. "We can go do whatever you want." he offered his hand to her, which she took. He opened the door and pulled her out after making sure the coast was clear. They ran down the hall, heading towards the parking lot as fast as they could. "Come on," he urged as they slipped out the doors. He fished for his keys and led her to a dark, crimson red Chevy camaro. "Ready?" he asked, hitting the unlock button.

"Yes. I think this is the most exciting thing I've ever done in my entire life." Sakura told him, and excited smile coming to her face.

He slid in, tossing his bag in the back. Sakura did the same and shut her door, buckling as soon as she was situated. "So where to?" he asked, starting the car so they could hear the purr of the engine.

She tapped her chin, appearing deep in thought. Suddenly she perked up. "I know! We could go to the amusement park! Nobody will be there at this time of day, so we can have the whole park to ourselves." She said, smiling at him. It would be kind of like going on a date with him, something she had always wanted to do ever since she was little. He just laughed, giving her another small smile. Something that seemed to occur a bit more around her.

"Sure thing. Sounds like a plan." He agreed, pulling out and drove out of the parking lot taking off into the street. The drive didn't take too long since the park was just outside of the city. When they arrived it was just as Sakura had said, there was hardly anyone there. And of course, being who he was, Gaara parked in the V.I.P. valet parking. They got out and Gaara looked around, finally letting his gaze fall on her. "Well this is going to be fun." He smirked.

Sakura looked around, completely in awe of the place. It had changed a lot since her last visit with her parents when she was eight. Then her gaze landed on Gaara, and she smiled. "Let's go! I want to go on every ride." She said, running around his car and grabbing his hand, pulling him towards the entrance. He just allowed himself to be pulled and watched her excited face. He was glad he was the one to cause it instead of his brother.

They got to the front and Gaara pulled out his wallet, handing the woman his red credit card. She blinked and looked down at the name and then back up at him. "Mr. Sabaku, aren't you supposed to be in school?" she arched a delicate brow but ran it anyway.

"Yes well, that crazy girl found me so it was an evasive maneuver." He laughed.

She went w bit wide eyed, handing him back the card. "That horrible little brunette girl?"

He nodded and took their admittance, walking in with her to the nearly empty park. There were a few groups of kids, probably on a field trip from school or some people who were on vacation. Sakura went straight for the park directory scanning the map. "Okay, if we start here, we can do a huge loop of the park, and effectively go on everything." She said, drawing their route with her finger on the board. "What do you think?" she asked, looking at him.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Lead the way." He gestured, stepping back and allowing her to pass.

She walked off, leading them to the first ride, which was a huge roller coaster with tons of drops and turns in it. Sakura gave it a doubtful look, not really believing that it was entirely safe. This was one of the new additions since her last trip, so she didn't know if it was fun or not. But she didn't want to seem like a chicken in front of Gaara, especially since she had said she wanted to go on every ride. So, after taking a fortifying breath, she walked to the front of the line. Which took a lot of walking since there was no one in it. Gaara watched her form curiously, noting the tension and sighed. "You know…if you're nervous we don't have to ride it. I'm not going to make fun of you or anything."

She looked at him and smiled. "No, I want to ride every single one, since I don't know the next time I'll get to come back."

"You know you can come back whenever you want." He said, looking down at her. "I would lo-um, like to go with you anytime." He offered, glad he had saved himself. He didn't want to freak her out with such strong words.

"Really?" she asked with a bright smile. Then she hugged him. "That would be great Gaara, you're the best." She said, snuggling into him a bit. Catching herself about to sniff him, she let go of him quickly, a slight blush on her cheeks. "Well, um, let's go to a different one then."

"Sounds fine to me. You can work yourself up to this one if you wish." He said, placing his hand on the small of her back and walking her back down as they headed towards another one Sakura actually wanted to ride. "Cause you know you don't have to impress me with being all fearless. No one is."

She huffed, but blushed at their intimate contact. "Who said I was trying to impress you? Maybe I just have a childhood fear of big roller coasters that I'm trying to get over." She said, trying to act as if that was the real reason.

"Uh huh." He smirked. "That _might_ have been believable." He pointed down at her, poking her forehead playfully. "If you weren't so transparent." He snickered, running off and up the steps so she couldn't hit him for his jab.

"Gaara! Come back here!" she yelled with a smile, running after him.

"So you can hit me?" he laughed, keeping ahead of her. "Yeah, I don't think so!"

"Who said I was going to hit you?" she called up to him. "What if I was going to do something else?"

He slowed his run and stopped, only being one level ahead of her. He leaned over the railing and stared down at her. "Like what?" he asked curiously.

She stopped and looked up at him. "Um…" she blinked, thinking of what else she could do to him. Well, there were tons of things she wanted to do to him, but none were appropriate to the situation in the least. "I could kick you." She said, crossing her arms and nodding. "Or pinch you. Yup, that's what I could do."

"And I would let you do that because…?" he trailed off, another smirk creepy up his face.

"Because you deserve it?" she rocked back and forth on her heels.

"Do I?"

"Yes?" she asked more than said, since she wasn't entirely sure anymore.

"Mmm. I don't think so." He smirked and pulled away from the railing. "Well I'd hurry up if I were you." He called, starting up the steps.

Sakura huffed once more and ran up after him. "You're so mean." She pouted once she caught up to him.

He shrugged. "I'm not mean. I'm the captain of the soccer team. I have to push people and you are no exception. It just means I care about you," he laughed, bumping into her on purpose.

She giggled, bumping him back. "Likewise."

They walked up to the top and Gaara stopped, "Oh! You know what, I just thought of something."

"What?"

"Well," he began. "You know it's almost Winter break and us and the Uchiha's always go up to Hokkaido for two weeks for skiing and snowboarding and stuff. This year the Hyuuga's are coming as well. Do you want to come? Naruto is coming, so is Kiba who's bringing Ino."

"I'd love to. I just have to ask my parents, but I'm sure they'll say yes when they hear you'll be there. They like you." She said with a smile.

"Really?" he blinked, looking a bit confused. "I mean after I accidently lit your kitchen on fire at your thirteenth birthday, I thought she kind of hated me."

"Nah." She waved it off. "It gave her a reason to redecorate the kitchen."

"Well alright then." He nodded and then frowned. "And ask Natsumi if she wants to come…after what I saw…I just…I dunno, I can't stop thinking about that."

She nodded. "I know. It's hard to believe that my happy, carefree cousin puts up with that all the time. But I'll definitely ask her, I'm sure she'd be delighted to come."

"Good." He smiled and then stepped aside so she could go ahead. "Well ladies first."

"Such a gentleman." She said with an easy smile, getting on the ride. Gaara followed her, and in no time at all, they were zipping through the tracks.

They spent the rest of the day at the park, riding as many rides as Sakura wanted to go on, and even playing a few games. Gaara won her a stuffed monkey, which she named Kong, and the rest of the day was spent with tons of laughs. As it started to get dark, they left, grabbing a bite to eat before driving to Sakura's apartment building. He walked her up the stairs, wanting to make sure she got there safely, and to be there in case he uncle came out.

"Thank you for today. It was a lot of fun." Sakura said, turning to him when they were at her door.

"No problem. It was more for my benefit if anything." He smiled, brushing some of her hair from her face. His eyes widened just a fraction and he stopped, pulling his hand back quickly. "I'm glad we got to hang out, it's been a long time since we've done. You know with Soccer and Clinical taking up most mine and yours time."

"Yeah." She sighed. An odd look came to her face then, and she appeared to be having an inner battle with herself. Coming to a decision, Sakura got on her tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. When she pulled away, a crimson blush was on her face. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." She said, giving him a shy smile.

Gaara just stared at her for a little over a minute and then seemed to snap from his daze. "Uh, yeah. See you tomorrow." He smiled, waving as he walked off. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and tried to keep calm. It was just a thank you kiss and nothing more. He breathed out, feeling another smile creep across his face. Maybe it was getting closer to being the time to tell Sakura how he felt. With those thoughts in mind, he got back in his car and headed home. Already excited for the next day. She was really one of the only things that made school bearable.


	11. Absence

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Eleven_

-Absence-

Akito sat in his seat in his first class of the day and held in a yawn. He had stayed up late the night before working on Natsumi's birthday present. He smiled to himself. She was going to love it. He knew that he'd already told her that the dress he'd bought for her to wear to the dance was his birthday present to her, but it was so impersonal. This was something that he knew she would use all the time, just for him.

The bell rang, and Akito frowned when Natsumi didn't walk through the door. Strange, she was always on time to class, if not a little early. Perhaps she was taking the day off, since it was her birthday?

No, he thought, mentally shaking his head. She would never miss school just to stay home with her bastard father. Something was up, and for some reason, he had a bad feeling about it.

Kakashi walked in and took his seat, reading his worn orange book. He glanced up, and confusion was evident on his features as he looked around the room. "Where is Natsumi?" the silver haired man asked.

Everyone else looked around, except for Akito and Sakura, wondering the same thing. "She won't be coming to school today." Sakura said softly.

"Why? Natsumi-chan always comes to school, even if she's sick." Minako asked, confused.

The pink haired girl sighed. "She isn't coming, because she's in the hospital. I don't know all of the details, but I'm going to go visit her after school instead of going to any club activities, if anybody wants to come with me." She told the class.

Akito's eyes narrowed. There was only one reason she would be in the hospital, most likely, and he felt his blood begin to boil. How could her father do that to her on her birthday? No matter, he would visit her and make her feel better, because that was what best friends did. Toshiro frowned and gave Sakura a nod, "Yeah Sakura, I'll go with you. There's gotta be something seriously wrong if Natsumi missed school cause of it. I don't think she's ever missed. Unless, of course it was for a school club."

Gaara glanced at his brother and then to the back of Sakura's head. He had his hands laced together and his elbows propped up on the desk. But his knuckles were white from the strain he was putting on them. It couldn't possibly be that jerk who called himself her father. He knew something about bad fathers, his own was mean and coarse and didn't care. But at least he took care of him and his family and didn't do things that would hurt them physically. "I'll join you too." He nodded and then turned to Sasuke. "So I'll cancel practice for today, that ok?"

"It's fine. I will also come and visit Natsumi." The stoic Uchiha said.

"Hinata and I will come too." Minako said with a nod.

Naruto pumped a fist in the air. "Let's all go visit Natsumi-chan after school!" he announced.

"Yeah she'll definitely like that." Kiba grinned.

Ino clapped her hands together excitedly. "And we could bring her flowers! I'll go pick them up after school from my family's shop near the hospital."

Kakashi waved his hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down. "Okay everyone, now that that's been settled, we do have a lesson to get to. Natsumi will be upset if nobody brings her a set of today's notes, which are on the measurement of the mole." He announced.

Naruto groaned. "Aw, come on Kakashi-sensei, can't we skip lessons for today? I can't learn if one of my classmates is in the hospital."

"You can't learn if none of your classmates are in the hospital, idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

They began the lesson, with Sakura dutifully taking notes for her cousin. These would be the best notes she'd ever taken, she swore so to herself. Akito didn't even pay attention. He sat rigid in his chair for the remainder of the class, glancing at the clock every so often. Once the bell rang he shot out of his seat and left the class quickly, making his way to his motorcycle.

He hopped on his bike after pulling on his helmet and sped off to the hospital. Screw school, he knew everything they were currently learning anyways. It took him about thirty minutes to reach his destination, and once he was there, he walked inside the white building to the front desk.

"I'm here to see Natsumi. She's a high school student with pink hair." He said to the receptionist.

The woman peered up at him from beneath her spectacles. "And you are?"

"Her boyfriend." He lied quickly.

"Ah, well, she is on the fourth floor, room one-oh-five E." she informed him.

He nodded. "Thank you." He said, heading to the elevator. The ride to the fourth floor was one of the longest he'd ever been on, but when the torture was over, he briskly walked to her room. Not even bothering to knock, he opened the door and walked in.

"Natsumi!" he called, his eyes immediately going to her form on the bed. Said girl glanced over from her previous occupation, watching the television, and went slightly wide eyed.

"Akito? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" she asked, glancing around and trying to find the clock. Maybe she had just let time slip. She was wearing one of the hospital gowns and sitting propped up against pillows. She had a huge, black bruise just along her jaw and a few small ones one her arms. One of her arms was in a sling but it didn't look broken, maybe just dislocated.

He shut the door and walked over to her, sitting on the side of the bed. "I'm skipping." He said simply.

She smiled at him and shook her head. "Akito you can't skip that's bad. You should go back to school. I'm fine." She assured, patting his leg and trying to comfort him, which only made him a bit angry. How could she sit there and attempt to comfort him when she was the one who should be needing security?

He reached out and brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Natsumi, what happened?" he asked softly.

Her smile fell away and she frowned. "Nothing happened." She said simply, facing forward and staring at the wall. "I fell down the steps is all. I'm fine though. They just won't let me leave cause they think I might have a concussion. But I don't, I know I don't."

"That's not what happened, and we both know it." He said, frowning. Why wouldn't she tell him the truth? After everything he told her about his life, why was she so loath to tell him about hers?

"Yeah, but it's ok. I deserved it anyways. I shouldn't have yelled. So it's fine." She looked back at him, trying to smile. "It's really fine."

His eye twitched. "Shouldn't have yelled? If there's anything that bastard deserves from you it's for you to yell at him. Don't go and believe what he tells you Natsumi, they're all lies." He said fiercely.

"But Akito…he's my dad…"

"Who cares? The fact that he's your father doesn't mean shit. He can still be wrong." He declared. "He has a beautiful treasure for a daughter, and what does he do with it? He neglects it and throws it around. That in itself means that he's an idiot, and idiots are always wrong."

"But what am I supposed to do?" She asked, her eyes beginning to water. "I can't just leave."

"Yes you can." He said earnestly. "You could come stay with me. We have plenty of room, and I know my Aunt Mikoto would just adore you. And if your father says anything about it, we have plenty great lawyers who will put him in his place."

"No." she said seriously. "You don't understand. _This_ is what he did to me because I said I was going to leave." She gestured to her body with her free hand. "He told me if I tried to leave again, worse things were going to happen." She stared crying then, burying her face in her open palms.

He sighed and gently pulled her closer to him. "Fine, I will not make you leave. But don't forget what I said. Call me whenever you want to leave, and I will come get you, no matter what. I promise." He told her, stroking her head for comfort. She nuzzled into him, gripping onto his shirt as she situated in his lap.

"I know. But…it just wouldn't be appropriate. I mean cause you're a boy and I'm a girl and considering what didn't happen on Sunday. Your aunt wouldn't like it, I mean even if we didn't it would make them uncomfortable and Sasuke's dad doesn't exactly like people."

"I know that. But my Aunt would like you, and once we have her on our side it doesn't matter what my Uncle Fugaku says. That woman has him wrapped around her little finger. Besides, everyone likes you, so I'm not worried." He said, smiling down at her.

She leaned into him, laying her head against his chest. "I just…can't. He'd kill me."

"I would protect you." He said, rubbing her back. After a few moments he remembered what he was initially going to do for her today, and so he pulled away from her. "I have something for you." He said with a small smile.

She perked up and turned around in his waist, practically straddling his waist now. "What is it? What is it? Tell me!" she begged, gripping onto his shoulders and shaking him.

He chuckled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a long, black velvet box. "Happy Birthday Natsumi." He said, holding it out to her. Her eyes went as wide as saucers and she took the box from him slowly, opening it up.

Inside was a locket in the shape of a heart, made of white gold. On the front it had a flower made out of imbedded diamonds. When she opened it up, there was a picture of Akito on the left, without glasses on, and smirking, a devilish glint in his eyes. On the right there was a picture of her, smiling brightly. "Oh wow!" she gasped, looking up at him and mirroring the photo. "It's so beautiful Akito! I love it!" she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered, keeping a tight grip on him.

He returned her embrace. "You're welcome. This way, whenever you're lonely, I'll always be with you." He told her. She pulled away finally and pulled it out of the box, setting it aside and playing with the locket. She opened it once more and examined the pictures. She stared at his and smiled.

"Aw, you're not wearing your glasses." She giggled, looking up at him and then his glasses. It was a bit hard to tell in the picture what he truly looked like since it was so small. "So how come you never take your glasses off?"

"Because I would like to be able to see." He told her, though it was a complete lie. All Uchiha had perfect eyesight, it was a well-known fact. But, hopefully, Natsumi didn't know that.

She gave him a skeptical glance but decided to leave it alone. "Well I love it, it's beautiful. I will wear it always." She promised, reaching behind her neck and fastening it. She touched it with her finger tips and then leaned forward, giving him a peck on the cheek.

He smiled. "I'm glad. When you get out of the hospital I'll take you out to dinner for your birthday, and get you some free dessert."

"Well hopefully, I'll be out later today. My aunt is going to come get me since…well my dad doesn't give a crap." She shrugged and looked back down at her present. "Thank you…a lot Akito. You really are the best friend I've ever had."

"You're the only friend I've ever had. Besides Toshiro, but that's not the point." He said with a small smile.

She took his hands in hers, "And I promise I'll always protect you too. Since you are important to me. No matter what." She nodded.

He kissed her forehead affectionately. "I don't think a time will ever come when I need protecting, but it'd nice to know that someone will be there for me." He said.

"I know. But I will. I promise." She said, resting her hands on his chest.

They sat like that for a while, until finally Natsumi got bored and they watched the TV together. Once school was out everyone from their junior class came to visit her, and it was a while longer until they went home. When Sakura's mom came to sign Natsumi out of the hospital, Akito quietly had a word with her, and told her he would take care of the bill. The elder woman argued with him about it, but he knew they wouldn't be able to pay, and he didn't want Natsumi's dad to get mad at her for costing him so much.

Once that was taken care of, he took Natsumi out to her promised dinner. They spent the rest of the night talking and hanging out, until he had to take her home. They did have school the next day after all. When it was all said and done, and Akito was speeding across town to his home, he knew. He and Natsumi were already practically more than friends, so why not pursue a relationship with her? At the moment, it was as if they were lying to themselves about one another, and that was just wrong. What he needed to do was see if she would be open to dating him. With that thought, Akito decided to talk to her about it when the best opportunity arose.


	12. Bash

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Twelve_

-Bash-

Sasori took another sip of his gin. Brown eyes scanned the crowd that filled the Uchiha house. Tonight they were having a party for a very specific reason. He glanced over to his companion and sighed. "Gaara is really starting to piss me off."

Itachi looked at the redhead. "Hn. Not as much as Akito is pissing me off. It seems no matter what I do, he finds some way to defy me." He took a sip of his scotch.

"Did you know that that little brat took Sakura and skipped with her? They spent all day, _alone_, at a theme park. Lord knows what they did." He growled, his grip on his glass tightening.

"Did you know that my little cousin skipped school and spent all day with Natsumi when she was at the hospital? He even took her out to a fancy restaurant for dinner, because it was her birthday. I didn't even get to see her or anything to try and earn more points." Itachi complained as he watched some of the people dance rather horribly.

"Well enough is enough." The redhead glared. "Sakura and Natsumi are going to arrive any moment. Gaara and Akito won't return home until much later, so we have plenty of time."

"Where did they go again?" Itachi asked, sounding bored.

Sasori just shrugged. "I dunno. Paintballing or something. But with them gone they won't be cock blocking anymore." He smirked, taking another drink and downing the rest.

"Excellent." Itachi said with an evil smile, doing the same.

"All we have to do is get them drunk enough to where their sense of reason is gone, and have the time of our lives." Sasori pointed out, glancing towards the front door as it opened and two pink haired girls walked in. He grinned, "Now time for the best fuck ever." He said, walking forward to meet Sakura.

She was wearing a red strapless shirt that stopped just above her hips, showing a bit of skin, and a pair of tight black skinny jeans with some black flats. Her hair was straightened in a pixie-like fashion, and she had on a bit of make-up, similar to the amount she'd worn for the dance. Natsumi had on a little black dress with small straps that stopped mid-thigh. Small triangles of fabric made up the bottom of the dress, and along the top it has some white lace with a black ribbon running through it. She had some sheer black arm bands that went just above her elbows and covered the rest of her arm to her wrist. On her legs she wore black leggings that stopped about three inches from the bottom of her dress, with a pair of black flats as well. Her hair was left straight, but had some volume to it, and around her neck she was wearing the necklace Akito had given her.

Itachi followed his friend up to the girls, and smiled at them. "Hello ladies. I'm so glad you could make it." He said.

"Thank you for inviting us." Sakura replied, smiling.

"Yeah, thanks." Natsumi smiled, looking around. "Is Akito here?" she asked.

Sasori just grimaced and glanced at his friend before stepping forward and offering his hand down to Sakura. She looked at it curiously before taking it, being led away by the elder redhead. Itachi shook his head, holding in his anger at her question. "No, he is off with some of his friends this evening, and won't be back until later. Until then, you're going to have to settle for my company, I hope that is agreeable to you." He said, taking her hand and bowing, kissing it lightly.

She blushed a bit and nodded. "No that's fine. I was just wondering since I didn't know where he was today. I tried calling. But I would love to hang out with you tonight." She said, trying to cover her blunder. "It's been a while since you and I have just hung out."

"Too long, if you ask me." He said, leading her towards the bar to get her a drink. "What would you like?" he asked her.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh no, I don't drink." She said shaking her head. "But thank you."

He nodded. "Okay, I will mix you a carbonated beverage then. What do you prefer?" he asked, moving behind the bar.

"Sprite would be fantastic if you don't mind." She smiled, looking around the room and seeing all the people from her school, mostly from the senior class.

He hid his smirk as he took out several unlabeled bottles and began to mix them. He would give her a sprite, but it would be specially mixed with certain alcohols and flavors so that she wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He would have her tonight, no matter what. It was the opportune moment, after all. Finished with the drink, he put it in a fancy glass and added a little umbrella to it, wanting her to think he was being funny. "Here you go." He said, holding the glass out for her.

She blinked and laughed. "Oh wow thanks. It's so fancy." She took the glass and sipped the contents. She looked down at it and gave it a look. "Tastes kind of odd. Is this some kind of imported soda?" she glanced up at him. He just nodded, trying not to let his smirk widen.

"Yeah…some kind of imported." He nodded.

She took another sip as he walked back around and led her off to another room to sit down and talk with a few other people he liked. Of course, mostly to show off his prize for the evening.

Sasori let Sakura sit on a plush couch and took the space beside her, not releasing her hand. "So Sakura, would you like something to drink? We have everything. I think you would really enjoy a martini. The Uchiha bar tender is simply marvelous. You would love it."

"Um…I don't really drink." She said, giving him an unsure look. "Actually, I've never drank before."

"Well then you should try it. I promise, one doesn't really do anything." He smiled, looking so trusting. "You could taste it and then I'll get you water or whatever you want. If you don't like it, we can just give it back, but I think you will. Plus a little never hurt."

She thought about his words and nodded. "Okay, I'll try it. It's like you said, one couldn't hurt, right?"

"Of course." He nodded and then stood, walking over to the bar and having one ordered up for her. He went around the counter and pulled out something Itachi had used just moments before. With this, even one alcoholic beverage would break her mind. She would be easy for the picking. He brought her the drink back and offered it down to her once he finished spiking it. "Here you go Sakura." He said, sitting back down beside her and taking a sip of his own refreshed drink.

"Thanks." Sakura looked at the drink in a calculating manner, examining it before taking a small sip. "Wow, this is actually good. What's it made of?" she asked, looking at him as she took another drink.

He snickered and gave her a dark look. "Well, that's a secret dear little Sakura." He said, leaning closer to her and touching the tip of his finger under her chin. "Just enjoy."

"Okay." She said, giving him a bright smile. She quickly finished off her drink in one last gulp. "Can I have just one more? After that I think I'll stop." She told him, feeling a bit of a buzz from her first drink.

His grin grew. "Of course, let me go get another one made." He stood and finished his own drink, making her another martini and spiking that one as well. The more drugged up the better and easier it would be to get her upstairs and out of those tight…tight pants. A shiver ran up his spine as he thought about the little innocent girl beneath him, begging for more and more. He walked back once her drink was ready and handed it to her, watching her down the beverage quickly. He rested his hand on her thigh and rubbed her leg with his thumb in a caressing manner.

She giggled, placing her hand over his. "That kinda tickles."

He moved closer to her, beginning to whisper into her ear. "You know Sakura, you look so beautiful tonight. I'm having trouble resisting." He said, moving his hand a bit up and towards her inner thigh. God, he wanted to feel her beneath him so bad.

"Resisting what?" she asked innocently, leaning closer to him. "Nobody's trying to take you away." In her head it sounded kind of stupid, but she couldn't help but say it anyways. She was feeling so great, like nothing in the world could go wrong.

"Resisting you…" he breathed out, finally moving his hand fully between her legs and rubbing her jeans in attempts to feel her and push her to her ends. She would lose control soon anyways.

Sakura gasped and moved further into the couch, blushing furiously at what he was doing. Nobody had ever touched her that way before, and while she did like it, she didn't want Sasori to be the one doing it to her. He was the wrong redhead. "Hey, how come Gaara isn't here?" she asked, now that her thoughts had strayed to him.

"Who cares?" he growled, pulling her back so that she was pressed against him. He lowered his head and began to kiss her neck, biting softly on her pale skin. "It's just me and you now," he finished, moving his hand up and sliding it up her shirt and under one of her cups. "So just enjoy."

She put her hands against his chest, trying to push him back slightly as the blush on her face darkened. "B-but, he's missing out on all of the fun. And I want to see him." She said, turning her head to the side as he continued to shower her neck with attention. He growled, glancing up pinching one of her delicate nipples between his fingers. He would make her forget about his annoying little brother with his touch and how could he could make her feel.

"He didn't want to come. I said you would be coming, but he didn't seem to care. He just went out with his friends instead." He told her, continuing his ministrations and keeping her close.

"Oh." She said softly, becoming sad. Why didn't Gaara want to see her? She had thought that things were going well between them, especially after their day of fun at the amusement park. Had she come on too strong? As it was, she wasn't even doing anything to Sasori, and he was all over her, perhaps she just had this vast amount of untapped sex appeal that even she didn't know about. To her fogged mind, it made sense, though it was getting increasingly more difficult to think, especially with the weird things Sasori was doing to her. "Did I do something bad?" she asked, pulling away from him.

Sasori tried not to get angry. "I don't know, I'm not him. Why don't you stop thinking about him and just think about now?" he asked, leaning back against the couch and running his hand down his face.

Sakura fixed her top and resituated herself on the couch. "But if I upset him, I want to fix it. When is he coming back? Oh, I could have him try the drink you made me. Although, I might have had too much. My mind is all fuzzy now, and it's kinda hard to think." She laughed, scratching the back of her head.

"Why do you keep talking about him? What, do you like him or something?" the elder redhead snapped, growing more irritated as he crossed his arms.

Her eyes widened and she stared at him. "Do I?" she asked, unable to really find the answer. Then she realized that Sasori was becoming agitated. "Oh I'm sorry Sasori, I didn't realize you were jealous of Gaara. It's okay, you have nice features too, Gaara's are just manlier." She said, smiling as she pat his leg.

"Excuse me?" Sasori sat up, looking at her, slightly shocked. "Gaara has more manly features than I do? Are you out of your mind? I am the elder!" he practically yelled and then calmed himself, getting up and going over to the bar getting her another few drinks. Maybe one more would finally shut her up. He walked back over and placed it in her grip. "There, it's a different flavor."

"Oh yay!" she exclaimed, drinking it down. When she finished she sat the empty glass on the coffee table. "That was really good, I think I like it more than the other ones." She told him, feeling the effects of the drink begin to wash over her. "I feel kinda funny." She said, appearing to be in awe.

He handed her the second one he had had made as well, "Good thing I made two. Drink up and then we can play a new game." He smirked.

* * *

Off in another room of the house, Itachi sat with Natsumi almost in his lap. Over the course of the past thirty minutes, she had drunk at least four of the 'sprites' he'd made her. He placed his hand on her upper thigh and began to rub her skin, slowly moving towards the areas of flesh her dress covered.

"Natsumi," he said low in her ear, sounding seductive. "Do you want to go somewhere where we can be alone? Get away from all this noise?" he placed his other hand on her hip and brought her closer to him slightly.

"It is pretty noisy." She mumbled out, looking around at the surrounding people who were paying them no mind. She looked at him, her vision blurring slightly. "But I dun…I dun think Akito would like that. But it's so loud." She slurred a bit and shivered from the heat building on her leg. What was he doing to her?

"Alright, let's go." He said, picking her up bridal style and carrying her towards the stairs. He looked over at Sasori to see how he was faring, and saw that Sakura was chugging a drink. Making eye contact with the redhead, he smirked, showing his friend the prize in his arms before making his way upstairs and to his room. Once they were at their intended destination, he shut the door and placed her on his large bed gently, sitting next to her. "Is this better?" he asked, placing his hand back on her thigh and resuming rubbing upwards. He leaned towards her and began to lavish her neck with kisses, nipping it every so often. Finally, finally, he would get to deflower this innocent flower. He would show her such a great time, and use her until he had his fill.

She latched onto his wrist and looked up, her eyes glazed over. "What are you doing?" she asked, seeming confused. He was touching her in odd ways she hadn't even allowed Akito to do, and Akito was the one she wanted to touch her in such ways.

"Making you feel good. Don't you want to feel good Natsumi?" he asked, bringing his other hand up her side until it was beneath her breast.

She frowned, trying to think clearly. She wanted to feel good and what he was doing felt good, but it was wrong. It didn't feel the way it should have felt. She took hold of his other hand and took it off her side, looking up at him. "I…uh…no, I don't really…I don't want to…where's Akito?" she asked, getting extremely nervous and looking around for him.

"Not here right now, like I told you earlier." Itachi said, becoming slightly annoyed. He was so close. All he had to do was convince her to let him bed her. "He didn't want to come to the party and be around everyone, so he decided to go elsewhere with his friends." He resumed kissing her neck, but instead of moving to her shoulder, he began to lick down her chest to the top of her dress.

"Oh." She shivered a bit, arching slightly. She wanted it to stop but she just couldn't get the words to form. That was when he touched the white gold necklace hanging around her neck. He lifted the necklace so that he could kiss across the top of her dress. As he was lavishing her chest, he had glanced at it, and thought it odd for her to be wearing such a nice piece of jewelry. He knew for a fact that her family was not wealthy enough to afford such a bauble, and as far as he knew, he was the only one who had ever bought her any type of expensive jewelry. He realized it was a locket and opened it out of curiosity, wanting to see the pictures inside. When it revealed Akito's smirking face, next to Natsumi's smiling one, Itachi felt himself grow extremely angry. That little weasel of a cousin had gone too far now.

No matter, he thought, resuming kissing the tops of her breasts as he moved her dress down a bit with his chin. When he took her and had her screaming his name beneath him, he would do it while she wore the youngest Uchiha's present, and then brag about it to the boy later. Because to any man, especially an Uchiha, that was the biggest slap across the face you could get, and therefore, the ultimate revenge for getting in his way so many times.

* * *

A crimson 2011 Hummer drove up to the front of the Uchiha mansion. Toshiro and Akito were in the back, actually laughing from the paint splatters and bruises they had received. Naruto and Kiba were turned around to look at the two, showing off their own. Sasuke glanced back and actually smiled. The day had been a total success. The six boys had taken the Saturday to have a guy's day and go paintballing. Even him and his younger cousin seemed to be getting along.

Gaara parked and then looked out the window, looking a bit shocked. "What the hell is going on?" he asked, pulling the keys out of the ignition. He had blue paint splattered along his neck and along his face. They all got out of the large vehicle and started towards the mansion. There were cars everywhere. Apparently, a party was being thrown. Kiba scratched his head and then snapped, looking at the group.

"Oh yeah, Ino told me Sasori and Itachi were throwing a party. She asked me if I wanted to come but we were already going paintballing, so I said no." he laughed. "Guess it must have slipped my mind."

"Might have slipped your mind? Do you know what this means?" Akito yelled, growing angry. "If Ino is here then so are Natsumi and Sakura!" he declared.

Gaara went wide eyed and ran forward, throwing the door open and looking around for his pink haired friend. "Sakura!" he called, getting odd stares from the people around him. He pushed through the crowd and walked into one of the living rooms, seeing Sakura sitting down next to Sasori on one of the couches. He hurried towards them and glared down at his brother. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Sakura looked up at him, a bit surprised before she smiled. "Gaara, you made it!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air. "You will never guess what Sasori gave me. It was these really tasty martinis. I got to try three different flavors." She said proudly. "You should have one, I'm sure he'd be glad to make another, since he's such an expert." She pat the elder redhead's knee before turning back to him, waiting for his answer.

He reached down and grabbed Sakura's wrist, pulling her up and keeping her by his side. "What the hell Sasori you tried to get her drunk!"

Sasori just rolled his eyes and stood, looking bored. "Whatever. Cool your jets little brother. All she could talk about was you and wishing you were here and how amazing you were. I even tried to feel her up and she managed to turn that towards you." He snapped, calming himself quickly once more. "I simply do not care anymore. I may be a sore loser, but it's too annoying, and I want to have sex. So you can go ahead and have her. She likes you anyways and I'm not _that_ bad of a brother." He sighed, walking off and snapping his fingers. There were instantly two women gripping onto his arms, ecstatic he had settled with them for the night.

Gaara just glared after him and then focused down at Sakura, holding her by her shoulders to steady her. "Sakura are you ok? How many fingers do you see?" he asked, holding up three fingers.

She appeared to be concentrating extremely hard. "S-six? I don't know, it's kinda hard to think." She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm so happy you're here, I was afraid you were going to miss the whole party." Then she became sad. "Why didn't you care if I was coming? Did I do something bad?" she asked softly.

He frowned and instantly knew this was all Sasori's fault. "Sakura I didn't even know there was a party tonight. Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, Toshiro, Akito, and I went paintballing today. Sasori just threw this party to get you to have sex with him. That's why you're drunk now." He said sadly, brushing some of her hair from her eyes and cupping her face. "Do you want me to take you home?"

She shook her head. "No, I want to be with you." She said, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her body against his. She inhaled deeply and wrinkled her nose. "You smell like the paintball place. It's kinda hot." She told him, placing her chin against his chest and looking up at him.

Gaara went slightly wide eyed and took Sakura by the shoulders and pulled her off of him. "Sakura snap out of it. You are not in the right of mind. Let me take you home."

Sakura frowned. "But you'll get your nice car all dirty." She said, and then suddenly perked up. "I know! I will give you a bath. It's something all doctors have to learn how to do anyways. I could even join you, and we can wash each other." She gave him a suggestive look, placing her hand on his chest and beginning to slide it down towards the waistband of his jeans.

"Oh, ho, ho, ho!" Gaara shivered from delight, a dark blush spreading across his cheeks as he took hold of her wrists and removed them from his body. He didn't know if he would be able to not take advantage of the situation. She was just coming on so strong. "Sakura I don't think so." He said, refusing to break. He was better than this. He could hold out. But seeing her saddened face he quickly thought up a deal. "Not that I don't want to or anything. That would be nice, but you just look so tired. So…some other time?"

She instantly perked up. "Okay, but don't forget, otherwise I'll be really upset." She rose on her tiptoes so that her mouth was next to his ear. "I want to feel your hands all over my body." She whispered. He breathed out, just barely touching her hips with his fingertips. God, he wanted her so bad.

"Yeah…ok…" he trailed off, pulling away finally once his thoughts snapped back. "Come on Sakura. Let's get you some water to try and delude your system." He sighed, taking her hand and pulling her towards the kitchen.

* * *

Akito walked the halls of his home, frantically looking for Natsumi. Then it hit him. Itachi would have taken her to his room. He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Making it to the eldest Uchiha's bedroom, he was about to open the door when he heard a noise that made him pause.

His eyes widened when he realized that Itachi was in there having sex. Completely mortified, Akito slowly backed away from the door and went into his room, wanting to get away from everything. He began to pace the length of his bedroom once he was alone.

How could she? Sure, his cousin had probably tricked her somehow, but…she had told him that she liked it better when he kissed her, when he touched her. And yet she had given herself to his eldest cousin.

He snorted. How could he have been so foolish and begun to care for her, have feelings for her? He had wanted to be the one she turned to for all of her needs, and he meant all of them. He wanted to be the one to introduce her to the pleasures a bedroom could offer. She even knew it, because he had told her as much. There was absolutely no way his words could have been mistaken.

He halted his pacing immediately when a thought hit him. What if she had just been using him? Trying to win over all of the men of the Uchiha family? Sasuke was her friend, and on the same soccer team as her. Itachi was obviously attracted to her, and lavished her with attention, and he, Uchiha Akito…he cared for her deeply. Maybe even loved her. But now he wasn't so sure. How could he love a person who had toyed with his emotions and then tossed him away like yesterday's trash? Letting out a frustrated yell, he punched the wall of his room and then sunk onto his mattress in defeat. Perhaps, it was better to just look out and care for himself, the way he used to. At least that way he wouldn't have to feel the pain he was feeling right now. Because anything, even death, was better than this.

Sighing, he rose and grabbed a change of clothes, intent on showering. He was dirty and gross from playing paintball, and this way he wouldn't have to see or hear Natsumi when she left Itachi's room once they were done with their little…deed.

He opened the door and walked hastily down the hall, trying to ignore everyone around him. Bumping into someone, he stopped and looked down, blinking when he came face to face with a head of pink hair. Akito glanced up, seeing that she had come from the direction of his cousin's bedroom, and frowned, looking back down at her, wondering if she would try and explain herself, now that she had been caught.

Natsumi was slightly wide eyed, staring at him and trying to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Her eyes were puffy and red, almost as if she had been crying and a bit blood shot from the alcohol. "Akito?" she gasped, wrapping her arms around him tightly in need of his embrace. "Where have you been?"

His eyes widened angrily at her actions. How dare she touch him after doing such a vile act with his cousin? He gently grabbed her hands and stepped away from her. "How could you?" he asked harshly.

She blinked, looking extremely confused. "Huh? How could I what?" she asked, searching his disgusted face. She didn't understand what was wrong. Why was he acting this way?

"How could you lie to me? You said you didn't really like what Itachi did to you, because it didn't make you feel the way I did. And yet the minute I'm gone with my other friends, you go and become his…his…his whore." He said, giving her a look of contempt.

Her whole body went rigid and her eyes began to water once more, she didn't even know what to say. Akito thought she was Itachi's whore? A stray tear slid down her cheek and she slapped him as hard as she could, successfully wiping the look of disdain off his face and replacing it with shock. "Go to hell Akito! You jerk!" she sobbed out. "You're the liar! You told me you would always be there for me, but I guess that was a bunch of bullshit!" she pushed past him and hurried down the hall. She needed to find Sakura and get out of here. This night was just horrible and it had actually gotten worse than she ever imagined. How could he think she had slept with Itachi? She shook her head and went down the steps, seeing Sakura already with Gaara. She would just have to ask him to take them both home.

Akito placed his hand over the red mark on his cheek, staring down the hall in shock. He turned when he heard a door open, and saw two women exit Itachi's room, both looking unkempt. His eyes widened when he realized that Natsumi hadn't been with his cousin. More than likely, she had come from the bathroom that was just past Itachi's room.

Quickly walking into the bathroom and locking himself in there, he turned on the shower and pulled off his clothes, throwing them on the floor. His phone flew out of his jeans pocket, and out of curiosity he picked it up. Flipping it open, he saw that he had missed several calls from Natsumi, right around the time he had been in the middle of a game with the guys.

Guilt flooded him. How could he have said those horrible things to her? She was right, he hadn't been there when she'd needed him. His quick mind put together the missing pieces of the puzzle, and in agitation he hit his head against the wall. He would have to grovel to her in the morning, since neither of them was in the right mind for a discussion now. But first, first, he had to give Itachi hell for even trying to bed her.


	13. Fallacy

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Thirteen_

-Fallacy-

The next morning, bright and early, Akito waited outside Itachi's room. The party hadn't ended until the wee hours of the morning, and his cousin had pretty much had someone in his room until then. Pig.

The maids and staff had already cleaned everything up, to the point that you couldn't even tell a party had happened the night before. Akito didn't know how they did it, but he was thankful that they were there. Otherwise, he'd probably still be finding discarded underwear and such around the grounds of the house.

Itachi's door opened, and out walked the eldest Uchiha, wearing only a pair of loose pajama pants and looking a bit tired. Seeing Akito standing there, he raised a brow. "What? I don't have the patience to deal with you this morning."

"Too bad. I have a few things to say to you." Akito said, glaring at his elder.

He just sighed. "Can't it wait? I wish to bathe."

"No, it can't wait. What the hell did you do to Natsumi last night?" Akito almost yelled, his face beginning to grow red in anger.

"Calm down cousin. I merely spiked her drinks and got her to become extremely inebriated. You know, so that she'd be more willing." He said, not needing to elaborate.

This made Akito even angrier. "How could you? Just try and use her like that? It's sick."

Itachi's gaze hardened into a glare. "No, it is tactics. She chose to drink as many drinks as she did, and she agreed to come up to my room with me. I didn't force her into anything, so don't you go and accuse me of such."

"So you two didn't have sex last night?" the ebony haired boy asked, needing a confirmation from him.

"No, we didn't. She wouldn't stop asking where you were. My hopes rose when I was able to get her dress off, but then she freaked out and said something about you being the one to show her the world or some gibberish like that. And since I am not that cruel of a man, I let her go. Besides, it was easy to find replacements for her. Sure, they weren't as good as Natsumi would have been, but oh well." He shrugged.

Akito crossed his arms. "I can't believe you're such a bastard. You almost took what was mine, ruined what was _mine_." He said, pointing to his chest. "Don't ever touch Natsumi again, I will be the only one removing her clothes from now on."

Itachi mimicked his cousin's stance. "It's not like you wouldn't have been able to have her once I was done. I really only wanted to rid her of all her innocence that was left. Then you could have taken her all you wanted. Heck, I bet she would have even let us both have her at the same time. I'm not averse to such an idea, so long as you don't touch me." The elder Uchiha said, raising his arms. Then his dark gaze looked off at something behind Akito, and he visibly paled. "Fuck…" he muttered, causing Akito to turn around as well and go wide eyed.

Natsumi stood in the doorway, looking completely broken. She had come over to apologize to Akito for slapping him in the face last night and to talk to him. Since they hadn't exactly ended on good terms and she didn't like it when they were upset with one another. But this…she couldn't even complete the thought. She felt sick, like she wanted to throw up.

Her whole world was spinning and it was like someone had ripped the rug out from under her feat. "You guys…are assholes." She said loud enough for them to hear. She left the doorway quickly, needing to get out of the house once more. She gripped the area over her heart, trying to ease the pain she was feeling. How could they? Well Itachi she could see more so than Akito. But it still hurt.

The elder was just trying to flirt with her so he could have sex with her and take her for his own and Akito…it was like some sick game between the elite. She lifted her hand to her face and felt the tears already falling. How could Akito do this? So he was a liar. Just biding his time and snaking his way into her heart and her life. She had trusted him and relied on him. She felt so betrayed.

She shut her eyes tightly and gripped her shirt. This was worse…worse than when her mother had abandoned her. She ran into a hard body and went wide eyed, looking up at an older man who looked very similar to Itachi. "I'm so sorry." She choked out, bowing apologetically to the head of the Uchiha.

The elder man looked down at her impassively. "Hn." Was all he said as he examined her features. It appeared his son had been stupid, again, and now he would have to handle things. Again. "Do you require transportation to get home?" he asked, guessing by her upset state that she didn't want to be here anymore.

"Oh…" she looked around and then shook her head. "No, I…I couldn't impose. I'm so sorry for disturbing you." She bowed again. This just couldn't get any worse.

"Come, I will take you home." He ordered, turning and walking towards the door. He looked up the stairs to see both Itachi and Akito standing there, appearing as if they were going to come down and try to talk to the girl behind him. "I will deal with you two later." He said, opening the front door and stepping aside so that she could exit the house first. She nodded, not even bothering to look back. She didn't want them to see her crying and she couldn't bear to look at them anyways.

"Thank you…" she said softly. She walked past him and he followed, shutting the door behind them and leaving the two Uchiha boys alone.

Sasuke walked across the foyer then, reading a book. "You guys _really_ fucked up good this time." He said without looking up and heading into the other living room.

"Shut up Sasuke. It was mostly Itachi's fault, and you know it." Akito growled.

"I resent that." The eldest said.

Sasuke just shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You are going to suffer something you have never experienced yet. Natsumi's wrath. She's gonna kill you. And I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show." He said, a smirk coming to his features.

* * *

"What is your name young lady?" Fugaku asked as he pulled out of the driveway in his black jaguar. It was similar to Akito's, but this one was an older model, kept in excellent condition.

She took a fortifying breath and gripped her knees, trying to keep a reign on her emotions. "Natsumi." She finally said, keeping her breathing even.

He nodded. "My name is Uchiha Fugaku, head of the household, if you couldn't already guess." He told her, driving through the neighborhood. "Tell me, what stupid thing did my son and nephew do? If you don't mind my asking."

She glanced over at him and then back down, as cold as his exterior looked, he seemed genuinely concerned. "Well…Itachi's been flirting with me and Akito…was…my best friend. He was nice to me and befriended me and we…kind of made out and I thought I like him. But last night Itachi tried to have sex with me and when I rejected it I cried in the bathroom and when I was leaving I saw Akito and he called me a whore and wouldn't even listen to me." She blabbered on, finding that it was all just spilling out. "I slapped him but I felt kind of bad about it so I came over to apologize and I heard them arguing about Itachi just using me up and that Akito could have me when he was done. Or they could share and Akito said I was ruined for him or something like that…" she cried, wiping away the tears that were falling once more. "I just thought…I at least thought Akito was different. But he's just like everybody else, they just become friends with me to try and get into my pants."

Fugaku frowned, though it was an expression commonly seen on his face. He hadn't realized it was that bad. His eldest son he could understand, that boy had some problems. But Akito? True, the boy did have a troubled past, but he'd been doing well. He had even talked about Natsumi bit at the dinner table. At least, the head Uchiha thought he had. He didn't pay attention much when he ate dinner with his family. "I am sorry that you were caused this pain at the hands of an Uchiha. Rest assured, they will be punished accordingly for their transgressions. Though, should you choose to come up with a way to punish them, I will not stop you. I would welcome it, actually. Those boys need to be taught a lesson." He said to her, the corner of his mouth just barely tilting in a smile. He didn't know why, but he didn't much like this girl's tears.

She stared at him, slightly shocked. But a small smile actually came across her face and she laughed. "I'll be sure to think of the best one I can." She promised, nodding to him. She felt a bit better, talking out her feelings to someone other than her cousin. She didn't like dumping all her emotion drama on her. She was already stressed enough as it was with school and her own boy problems. She wiped her tears away and stared out the window, watching the passing buildings.

Finally, they pulled up to her building and she looked back at Fugaku. "Thank you so much for taking me home. I'm sorry to have troubled you." She smiled, even he could see now why she was so desired by his son and nephew. She looked absolutely stunning with that smile. Natsumi got out of the car then and waved as she thanked him once more.

He nodded to her through the glass of his window and drove off, thinking of the best ways to punish the young boys. It was a huge sin to make such a pretty girl sad, after all.


	14. Rage

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Fourteen_

-Rage-

Sakura sat in her first class, staring at the open book in her hands. She had taken it out in order to read a bit before class, like she usually did, but at the moment, she just couldn't concentrate. Her mind was too busy thinking of what she was going to say to Gaara when she saw him.

She was glad that he had been kind enough to take her and Natsumi home the night of the party, don't get her wrong, but she had said and done some…suggestive things before going home. Of course, even in her drunken state she could tell that Natsumi was upset about something, and so had ceased her actions towards the redhead for the car ride home. But once Natsumi was inside her own apartment, she had said the most embarrassing thing ever.

Before Gaara had turned to go back downstairs, she had gripped him in a tight embrace, and whispered into his ear that she wasn't wearing a bra. Then she had _licked_ his ear, and _bitten_ it. Even remembering such actions caused her face to turn a deep shade of red. From what she could remember, Gaara had told her that it was nice to know, and then made her go inside. At least he hadn't taken advantage of her or anything, unlike his jerk of a brother. She wasn't sure what she was going to say to Sasori for getting her drunk, but it would be good.

Sakura stiffened in her seat when Toshiro entered the room, thinking for a moment that it was Gaara. She let out a small sigh of relief when she realized it wasn't though. Class was going to be so weird. Natsumi wasn't even talking to Akito, who was sitting and staring at their desk, and her cousin's anger was almost palpable as she sat back in her seat, arms crossed, foot tapping, and a scowl on her face. Sakura had heard only a few of the details of what had happened to the other pink haired girl at the party, but from what she did know, he deserved her cousin's wrath.

Gaara came in then, and Sakura raised her book slightly so that the chances of her looking up and making eye contact with him were less. What did he think of her after everything she had said? It was obvious from her actions that she liked him, which she did, but she didn't know how he felt. The fact that in her foggy memory he didn't seem at all interested in her advances clearly told her that he didn't like her the same way she did him. But, being someone who liked facts, she would just have to ask him somehow, without making an even bigger fool of herself.

The red head stopped by her desk, much to her dismay since she didn't think she could handle a full on conversation at the moment, and gave her a small smile. "Hey Sakura, are you feeling better today?"

"Yes, thank you." She said softly, not even meeting his gaze as her cheeks turned red. She didn't think she could look him in the eyes right now, not after everything that had happened.

He frowned, sensing her reluctance and just sighed. "Well I'm glad you're alright." He said, walking back to his seat in the class room. He sat down and pulled out a pencil and looked over to the other pink haired girl he had taken home Saturday. There was absolutely not contact physically or verbally between the two and even from the back of the class he could feel the tension.

Of course, he knew what had transpired. Since, he had heard the story from Natsumi earlier that morning when they were warming up for soccer before school. He shifted his gaze to his dark haired best friend and leaned towards him. "So…what's the status in the Uchiha house?"

Sasuke leaned towards Gaara. "My father is pissed. When he came home, he talked to Itachi and Akito in his study for like an hour. There wasn't any yelling, which isn't a good sign. When my father is all calm and stuff, it only means bad news." He whispered. "Itachi isn't allowed to go anywhere or do anything for like, the next three months, which means no women," he smirked, enjoying his brother's torment. "And as for Akito, I'm not entirely sure. He stayed in the study even longer with my father. I don't really know what they talked about, he won't say. Heck, I don't even know what his punishment is."

"Maybe he's just waiting for Natsumi to punish him. She told me Fugaku gave her permission to do whatever she wanted to him."

Sasuke smiled in glee. "Sweet. That, to Akito, would be worse than anything my father could come up with."

Gaara just shook his head and tried not to laugh. "Yeah well, I kinda feel bad. Sounds a little like a misunderstanding to me."

"Oh it is." Sasuke nodded. "But it isn't my place to fix it. Plus, I really wanna see Natsumi kick Akito's ass. It would make my entire year."

The red head snickered. "True. I don't think I've ever seen her this angry."

Kakashi walked in then and called for the class to be silent. He kept his book up, reading over it as he wrote their lesson on the board and explained what the next week would entail. It always amazed Gaara how he could teach and focus so hard on his book. Natsumi just took notes, only looking up every now and then before returning her eyes to her paper.

She tried not to think about the lying bastard sitting next to her, since it only made her more upset. Besides, she had something in store for him and his pathetic cousin later. They would both pay for trying to play her. They would soon know just how cruel she could be. Class seemed to fly by, and once the bell rang everyone started to gather their things. Akito glanced over at Natsumi, wanting to say something to her. But just as he was about to open his mouth, she stood and turned her back to him, walking over towards her cousin.

Gaara and Sasuke came up to them as well, making simple conversation, since they had taken it upon themselves to handle the whole situation with the two. Seeing that he wouldn't get to talk to her, Akito stood silently and left the classroom, heading to his next one. He supposed he could try talking to her during lunch, but wasn't sure if she would go to the roof or not. Oh well, he thought. All he could do was hope.

* * *

It was lunch time and Natsumi and Sakura were talking about what they wanted to do. "I don't really want to stay here, can we go off campus for lunch today?" Natsumi asked, glancing at her cousin.

Sakura sighed and shook her head, "I can't. I've got some math homework I didn't finish and it's due today."

"Well I could help you with that Sakura." Gaara spoke up, giving her a small shrug.

Sasuke nodded and looked down at his friend. "Natsumi, you and I can go off campus. I'm hungry and I hate everyone here, present company excluded." He sighed.

"Alright." She smiled and waved to the other two. "See you guys later." And then they were gone. Gaara finally looked back down at Sakura and gave her a friendly smile.

"So need help with that homework?"

She looked up at him, meeting his gaze for the first time that day. "Yes, but…can I talk to you? Privately?" she asked, looking around the hall at the other people that were there. She didn't want anyone to overhear them when they talked, for fear that they would find out about what happened on Saturday night. She would be mortified if the entire school knew, it would completely ruin the image she had strived so hard to keep.

"Uh, sure." He paused, looking a bit worried. He looked around and then started for the steps. "We could go talk on the roof. No one's ever up there." He said and gestured for her to follow.

They walked up to the roof, and Sakura looked around curiously, since she had never been up there before. Gaara turned to her, seeming a little unsure. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Well…" Sakura began, fidgeting slightly as she rocked back on her heels. "I'm really sorry, about Saturday night. I wasn't in the right state of mind, and I said and did some things that made you uncomfortable. So I wanted to apologize."

Gaara just laughed and gave her a look, "Is that all this is about?" he questioned, not bothering to wait for her answer. "Sakura, it's no problem. Besides it was kind of funny to me. You kept asking me if I wanted to take a bath with you. Actually…" he paused. "You made me promise we would. But don't worry. Its fine." He assured her. "Though it was a bit curious…since usually drinking makes you do things you normally wouldn't…but it's always derived from some true feeling. At least…that's what I've read in medical books."

Her face turned a dark shade of crimson. "Yeah…that's true." She said softly.

"So," he began, smirking. "_Doctor_, what do you make of this diagnosis?"

She squeaked, going completely wide eyed as she looked at him. Should she tell him? He probably already knew, but it would be better if she told him. Then maybe she would be able to find out how he felt about her. She knew he wasn't using her for anything, unlike his older brother, but she still didn't know his true intentions with her. Were they friends? More than friends? She just couldn't tell. "Um…that I really…really…like you." She got out eventually, her face burning from the heat of her blush.

Gaara smiled, leaning closer to her, so that all she could see was his eyes. "Don't be so embarrassed Sakura, I like you too."

"Really?" she tried to steady her heartbeat so that she didn't begin to hyperventilate.

He nodded, touching his finger beneath her chin and tilting her head up a bit. "Since the third grade."

Sakura's breath hitched. "So…what does this make us?" she couldn't wait any longer, she just had to know.

"I dunno." He stopped for a moment but then leaned forward, resting his forehead on hers. "Whatever you want I guess. I like you a lot, so if you wanted…you could be my girlfriend."

She smirked. "If I want, huh?" she leaned her body closer to his. "Sounds like a generous offer. One in which I would be a fool if I didn't take it." She smiled up at him.

Gaara just smirked. "Well I am quite a catch." He said, feigning conceit. He caressed her cheek with his thumb and cupped her face gently, pressing his lips against her in a sweet kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body closer to his, deepening their contact. As far as first kisses went, this was amazing.

When they pulled away, Sakura had a huge smile on her face. "You know, if you play your cards right, I think I'll hold you to your promise."

His eyes widened slightly and he smoothed his hands down her sides, resting them on her hips. "Well," he smiled genuinely. "There's no rush. I've waited this long for you. I think I could wait a bit longer for a gift such as that. Besides, you are worth the wait." He said tenderly, rubbing her hips with his thumbs.

She kissed him once more, smiling against his lips. "You make me happy." She said. Sasori had said something similar to her at one point, and it did flatter her, but when Gaara said it, it actually did make her feel special. Despite the fact that they had just now become an official item, Sakura realized that she had liked Gaara a lot longer than she'd originally thought. She liked to spend time with him, and every time she did she always went home happy, and had had a good day. Now that they were together, almost every day would be like that.

"I try." He snickered, offering his hand to her. "Well come on, let's go get something to eat and I can still help you with your homework. And…if you _need_ some extra tutoring, I would be happy to help. You could come on over and we could do some more thorough studying." He smirked.

She took his hand, giving him a suggestive look. "Well, I _am_ having a little trouble memorizing the human body for Clinical. We'll probably just spend the entire afternoon doing that." She said.

"Well I'll be of any assistance that I can." He replied, pulling her with him as they headed for the door to the roof.

On the other side of the roof, hidden by the outer wall to the staircase leading back into the school, sat Akito. He had come out here looking for Natsumi, wanting to apologize to her, only to see her drive away with Sasuke for lunch. He was angry, but not at her, or his cousin, since he knew they were just friends.

He was going to leave the roof and just go home, skipping the rest of the day, but the door had opened and Gaara and Sakura had come out. Not wanting to interrupt them, or create an awkward moment, he had stayed hidden, silently listening to their conversation. At least somebody around here was allowed to be with the person they cared about and be happy. They deserved it, they really did. But he couldn't help the small part of him that felt he deserved such happiness a lot more than them

He had gone most of his life being unhappy, and the fact that he had caused some of it was of no consequence. Now that he had found Natsumi, he knew he could be happy, forever. All he had to do now was try to win her back. But he knew that she wouldn't speak to him, or even listen to anything he had to say. He would just have to come up with something to do in order to show her that he genuinely cared for her, and wasn't just trying to get into her pants.

Part of him was upset that she thought so little of him. Did she not remember all the things he had done for her? All the promises he had made her? The times he'd comforted her and told her how important she was to him? It seemed to Akito that none of those moments mattered to her, as they had to him, and that hurt him deeply. Because out of everyone in this world, she was the only one he would die for.

Letting out a dejected sigh, he rose and went back inside, deciding to go to his next class twenty minutes early.

* * *

"Welcome my young and youthful students!" Gai cheered loudly, looking at all the bodies lined up, Natsumi and Lee standing on either side of him. "Today I have consulted with my lovely little Natsumi and we have decided that today's game is going to be…soccer!"

Most of the class cheered, minus a select few. Natsumi just had her arms crossed over her chest, smirking. She and Lee already had their shin guards and cleats on. "Now! Pick your teams my captains!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

Natsumi stepped forward and moved her hands, placing them on her hips. "Sakura."

Lee pumped his fist in the air and pointed at his friend, "Neji!"

"Gaara."

"Sasori!"

"Sasuke."

"Itachi!"

"Kiba."

"AKTIO!" Lee exclaimed, looking more than excited that he was able to get a hold on two of the Uchiha's.

"Naruto."

"Temari!"

"Ino."

"Toshiro!"

"Minako."

"Shikamaru!"

"Hinata."

"And the LOVELY Tenten!" Lee gave her a thumbs up, making the brunette roll her eyes.

"Alright!" Gai announced, walking over to the basket filled with balls. He pulled out a soccer ball and tossed it over to Natsumi, who caught it with ease. "Get into your teams and meet outside!"

They split up and everyone headed outside, circling up in their teams and discussing plans. Sasori sighed, crossing his arms as he looked over to the others, who were now warming up. "Is it fair that they have half the soccer team?" he wondered, glancing over at Itachi.

"Something tells me this isn't going to end well." The eldest Uchiha said, looking at the redhead. Both boys had already told each other how their Saturday nights had gone, and each found a small comfort in the knowledge that the other didn't get their pink haired girl, though neither would ever say to the other, as it was not in their character.

Toshiro stood by Akito, watching Natsumi talk with Sasuke and Gaara. She glanced over, unable to help the look of pure odium that was aimed straight for Akito. "She _totally_ hates you." He laughed, nudging his friend. "Man did you screw up or what. This is why you always close the door when you have a conversation." He sighed. He had heard about how Natsumi had heard the wrong thing from both Uchiha's and how it had all gone down. Actually, by now, everyone knew.

Akito crossed his arms and glared at his friend. "Yeah, well, if she was actually listening to what I said, then she shouldn't be upset. But she won't even let me try and explain it all to her." He complained.

"Dude, she's a woman. She just needs to calm down and let off some steam. I mean, didn't you tell me she got all alarmed when you thought you guys were going to do it in her living room? It's not like some of your actions don't suggest any different than what she thinks." He pointed out.

"I know, but I stopped myself." He sighed. "I just…don't understand why she can't see how much I care about her. It kind of pisses me off actually, but it's not like I'm going to do anything about it. That will just make her angrier."

Toshiro sighed and gave his friend and endearing look. "Akito…just think about who she is. Gaara told me about her dad. I mean, just imagine how she feels. Her dad probably tells her he cares about her too and look what he does. Just give it some time, I doubt this will last forever." They both looked over to Natsumi, who was kneeing the ball and then caught it in her hands.

"You know," Sasori said, coming up behind the two younger boys, followed by Sasori. "As depressing as it is, this whole angry Natsumi is kinda turning me on." The elder red head smirked. There was a loud smack and the ball slammed right into Sasori's groin, making him keel over and writher in pain. "Ah! You bitch!" he gasped out.

Natsumi just smirked, glancing back at Gaara who had a pretty similar expression. Itachi chuckled, unable to not laugh at his friend.

"Still turned on?" he asked teasingly. Akito rolled his eyes and moved into the goal, since they had decided that the position of goalie was to be his.

"Fuck you man," Sasori groaned out, finally standing and trying get his feeling back and walk to his own spot.

Everyone took their positions. Gaara, Sasuke, and Natsumi taking up the ones they usually did when they played which was not a comforting sign. Kiba and Naruto took up their positions as well and the others just filled in where they were needed. Gaara set his foot on the ball and looked over at Sasuke and then Natsumi. Both nodded and faced forward. All this silent communication was really starting to make the other team feel nervous. Toshiro tapped his chin, glancing over at Akito, since he was one of the defenders. "I wonder…if this is how it feels to face them in a real game. Cause I'm already kind of scared."

Before anything more could be said, Gai blew the whistle and the three took off, Gaara handling the ball with expert control. He dodged around his brother, finally besting him in something, this was his field but it wasn't his revenge today. He had nothing to be angry about. Sakura was officially his girlfriend and he couldn't be more ecstatic. He passed it straight through Tenten's legs to Natsumi who took it forward and slammed her foot so hard into the ball, it indented and then flew forward, aimed right for Akito's face.

Akito went wide eyed, and Natsumi's threat of shoving the soccer ball up his ass flashed across his mind. Self-preservation being his main goal, he dove out of the way, not wanting to get hit. Plus, if he didn't, his glasses could get broken and knocked off his face. Not only did he not want to suffer the embarrassment, he also didn't want anyone to see him without them on.

Itachi walked over to him as he was standing. "You know Akito, the entire point of being the goalie is to stop the ball from going into the net."

"Shut up Itachi. I don't want to get pummeled the way Sasori did." He said, brushing the grass off before picking up the ball. Natsumi walked up and held her hands out for it, he tossed it over making eye contact with her for the first time all day.

"Don't worry. Next time I won't miss." She smirked, turning around and walking the ball back to the center field. Toshiro was just wide eyed, having seen firsthand just how fast that ball was going.

"Oh my god. You're going to die. She's going to murder you, with a soccer ball!"

Akito looked at him. "If I do die, I want you to write my eulogy." He said.

"I will, I will." Toshiro nodded, resting a hand on Akito's shoulder. Itachi just rolled his eyes and turned around only to have a soccer ball slam right into his face.

"That's for being an asshole! You bigamist pig!" Natsumi yelled, glaring down the eldest Uchiha. Gaara and Sasuke were just wide eyed on either side of her fuming form.

"You know…" Gaara began, looking down at her. "You're my hero."

"I think you've just replaced Gaara on my favorite people list." Sasuke said, watching his brother try to stop the blood that was flowing from his nose. This was the best day of his life.

The rest of gym continued in a similar manner. Sasori, Itachi, and Akito having to avoid the life threatening hits Natsumi sent their way. She wasn't all too happy that the eldest red head had tried to do the same with her cousin so he needed to pay too. Finally, it was all over and the three targets sat in the boy's locker room with bags of ice over their sore areas. Sasori had his placed over his groin, Itachi over his nose, and Akito had one resting on the back of his head as he leaned forward. Natsumi had aimed it perfectly at the goal post so that it bounced at the right angle to hit him in the back of the head.

Gaara and Sasuke walked in, looking down at the trio, laughing. "Rough game guys?" the red head snickered.

"Shut. Up." Was all Akito said, glaring up at them.

Sasuke smirked. "Man, am I gonna have fun telling everyone you two got beaten up by a girl. This has got to be the best day of my life." He declared.

"I would have to agree Sasuke." Gaara mirrored his friend's expression. "Especially since, Sakura is now my girlfriend."

Both Itachi and Sasori glared up at the red head. "What?" they asked.

"Yup." Gaara said, letting out a content sigh. "Looks like treating a girl like she's supposed to be treated and meaning it is still the way wooing should be done." He waved as him and Sasuke continued to their lockers.

Itachi looked at Sasori and lowered his bag of ice so that he could speak. "Oh well. I might still have a slim chance with Natsumi. You know, maybe if I-" he yelled out in pain then as Akito stood abruptly and punched him in the face, right across his sore nose.

"You aren't going to try anything you prick." The young Uchiha ground out, trying to steady himself as he held his throbbing head. While Itachi tried to stop his nose from bleeding again, Akito walked slowly over to his locker to get dressed.

"Bastard." Itachi mumbled, pinching his nose.

Sasori frowned and watched Akito's back and then looked at his injured friend. "He really likes her, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, so that means she's off limits." Itachi said, looking sideways at his friend. "Although I would like to have Natsumi, I'm not so much of a bastard that I'd take her from someone who's actually good for her."

They both sighed, disappointed with the turn of events. "Why are we such good people?" Sasori asked, leaning back a bit.

"I don't know. We should be called saints." The eldest Uchiha said, resting his head against a locker.

* * *

"Boys, how was school today?" Uchiha Mikoto asked as they all sat down to eat dinner that night.

Sasuke actually smiled. "It was fantastic mother! Itachi and Akio got beaten up by a girl, that's why they're all bruised." He declared happily.

Mikoto just blinked and looked at the other two. "Is that why your nose is all messed up sweetie? Did a bad girl beat you up? You want mommy to come over there and kiss it?" she said, moving to get up.

"No mother." Itachi said sharply, glaring at his younger brother.

She sighed and focused on Akito. "Are you alright dear? Do I need to call the principle and have a talk about bullies? No one should be hurting any of my boys."

"No, Aunt Mikoto. I can take care of myself." Akito said, moving his food around on his plate. He wasn't really hungry anyways.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, you don't understand mother. It was Natsumi that did it, as revenge for them trying to use her for her body. And man was it great. I think Itachi almost cried."

"Sasuke, if you do not cease your prattling, I will strangle you." His brother ground out.

"And I will help him." Akito glared at Sasuke.

"Natsumi?" she blinked and looked over at her husband. "That poor girl you made cry?" She asked, giving them harsh looks of disapproval.

"One in the same." Sasuke said with a self-satisfied smile. He was so going to write this down in his journal so that he remembered it for the rest of his life.

Fugaku made a slight choking sound, trying to cover up his chuckle. That girl was brilliant in her form of punishment, he was actually quite impressed. All three boys stared at him in disbelief, since usually he was silent during their family meals.

Mikoto sighed and took a spoonful of her soup. "Well, from what I heard, you deserved it. You shouldn't toy with young girl's emotions. Now Sasuke stop teasing your brother and your cousin and let's all just eat. You have school tomorrow so I want all your homework done and then off to bed. Alright?"

Sasuke sighed. "Yes mother." Everyone else finished eating then, and when dinner was over, the three Uchiha boys went upstairs to finish their homework and go to bed, just as they were told.

Fugaku looked over at his wife. "Akito really cares about that girl." He stated.

She met his gaze and let out a deep breath. "If so, he sure has a funny way of showing it. Didn't you tell me he called her a whore?"

"Yes. Apparently he thought she'd slept with Itachi." He moved his shoulder slightly in a shrug. "But I spoke to him about it, and from what I can tell, he's punishing himself more than I ever could."

She pursed her lips together and sighed. "Poor boy…maybe we should invite this girl over. It seems like a bit of a misunderstanding. And I hate seeing Akito so depressed."

Fugaku shook his head. "It's best not to involve ourselves. Matters of the heart tend to work themselves out eventually. Besides, it's his mess, we need to let the boy clean it up on his own. Otherwise he won't learn to grow up."

Mikoto nodded and stood from her place at the table. "You're right dear, now come on. You have an early morning yourself." She gestured to her husband as they walked out of the dining room and towards their own bedroom, leaving the maids to themselves as they cleaned. Mikoto just hoped Akito wouldn't do anything too rash with his new found depression.


	15. Kyoto

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Fifteen_

-Kyoto-

Four days later, the bell rang, beginning class. Naruto sat on the top of his desk, making plans with Kiba about what to do over the weekend. The blonde looked around the class. "Hey Sasuke, where's Akito?" he asked, noticing the dark haired boy's absence.

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know. He wasn't at home this morning, and his bike was gone."

Gaara rested his hand on Sakura's knee, who was currently sitting on his desk. "He probably just needed some time to himself. His life kinda sucks right now."

Ino walked up and wrapped her arms around her brunette and peeked over his shoulder at the group. "But he's rich. Can't he just find another girl like Itachi does?"

"Akito-kun never came off as someone to do what Itachi-sempai does though." Minako said, turning around in her seat.

It was then that Toshiro and Natsumi walked in, the redhead looked around and scratched his head. "Where's Akito?" he asked.

Gaara just rolled his eyes at his younger brother and then focused on Natsumi, who was staring at the seat the youngest Uchiha normally occupied. She stepped forward, a frown setting in on her features. She walked over to Sasuke, not bothering to give anyone else a glance. She stopped in front of him locking her pale jade with his onyx. "Where is he." She demanded.

"He disappeared this morning before everyone got up. Nobody knows where he went." Sasuke told her.

Natsumi felt her heart stop. "He's gone…?" she repeated, the words feeling like daggers in her stomach.

"I wouldn't be concerned with it. Akito can take care of himself, and I'm sure he'll be back. He did leave all of his things after all." He said. "Although, he did seem a bit more depressed last night than he has all week."

She nodded stiffly and walked back to the front, taking her seat. She lifted her hand slowly and pressed her finger tips against something hard, hidden beneath her shirt. Natsumi leaned back and shut her eyes, trying not to let her panicked emotions show. She gripped at the locket around her neck and took a deep breath. He would be back. Sasuke said so himself. He just had to come back.

* * *

Akito straightened his jacket as he walked down the familiar streets of Kyoto. He had skipped school in order to take the Uchiha private jet to his former home town so that he could visit his Aunt's grave. He needed guidance, and she was the only one who had ever provided him with such.

He stopped by the florist's shop and picked up a bouquet of daisies, her favorite flower. It wouldn't do to visit her and not bring a gift. He was dressed in all black, with his old leather jacket on that he had worn in his more troubled days.

As he rounded the corner, he sensed that he was being followed, and so slowed his pace. Having spent two years in a gang, and taking plenty of karate and kendo classes, he had excellent senses and reflexes. More than likely, it was someone who recognized him and wanted revenge for some reason or another. He didn't really want to deal with this right now. All he wanted to do was see his Aunt.

With a resigned sigh, he quickened his pace and ducked into an alleyway, knowing that his pursuer wouldn't make a move on him out in the open. As he neared the end of the alley, a dark figure appeared in front of him.

"Well, well, well. I never thought you'd have the guts to show your face here again." A familiar voice said.

Recognizing who it was, Akito stiffened. "And why wouldn't I? There's nothing here for me to be afraid of."

The other boy stepped forward, revealing his face. He had long, greasy brown hair and cold blue eyes. "You should fear me, Akito. I owe you for putting me in the hospital."

Akito, knowing where this discussion was going to go, set down the bundle of flowers he was holding so that they wouldn't get damaged in the fight. "You deserved what happened to you, Fuzen. And if you don't get out of my way, it will happen again." He threatened.

"Such big words for someone who's now wearing glasses. What, did you become soft when you moved to Tokyo?" he taunted, smirking.

Akito chose not to answer, instead just stood there and gave his opponent a once over. Whereas part of him didn't really feel like fighting his old enemy, another part of him really wanted to. It would be a good way to relieve some of his stress and pent up anger, and would probably make him feel better. "Alright, I suppose I can spare a few minutes to kick your ass again." He said eventually, taking off his jacket to allow for easier movement.

"You're going to regret those words." He said, before charging at him and raising a fist. Akito ducked swiftly and punched him in the gut. Then he quickly moved out of the way as the other boy recovered, holding his fists up near his face to block anything that came at him.

Fuzen straightened and turned towards him. "That was a lucky hit. Don't expect it to happen again."

"Hn." Was all Akito said in reply. He knew this tactic, get the other person talking so that they became distracted. Fuzen was like that though, he did many cheap things in order to get one over on his opponents.

They both ran at each other then, and entered into a series of punches and kicks, neither able to land a hit on the other. As Fuzen went to punch him in the face, Akito flipped back, kicking the other boy underneath his jaw and causing him to stumble back from the shock. Yelling in rage, the brunette charged, pulling out a knife. Akito's eyes widened slightly, and he spun out of the way of the blade, just barely making it in time.

Fuzen began to slash at him furiously, vainly trying to get him with the blade. Akito continued to dodge, but it began to get difficult the quicker the other boy's movements became. When Fuzen stepped on some of the daisies that Akito had bought, he was distracted just long enough for the brunette to cut him diagonally across his right cheek. He winced at the pain, but ignored the blood that was rolling down his cheek.

It was time to end this fight. Not only had Fuzen destroyed some of his Aunt's flowers, but he had cheated. There were no rules to their fight exactly, but the unspoken ones were clear. Unless it was declared at the beginning that knives would be used, it was mainly only to be their fists.

Before the other boy could see what was happening, Akito kicked the knife out of his hand, causing it to fly down the alley. Then he grabbed him around the waist and backed him into the wall, making him hit his head harshly against the brick. Straightening, Akito began to punch him repeatedly. His nose made a snapping noise, most likely because it had broken, and blood sprayed out of it. He didn't stop hitting the brunette until he saw his eyes roll back into his head and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Akito spat on the ground and breathed out harshly before walking away and putting his jacket back on. Then he picked up the bundle of daisies, pulling out the damaged ones before exiting the alley and walking away as if nothing happened.

He made his way to the graveyard and walked straight to his Aunt's grave, marked by a small tombstone. Kneeling, he placed the flowers down and sighed. "Hey. I'm having some trouble, and I figured you could help me out." He said.

He reached up and wiped away some of the blood on his cheek. "I know I promised you I wouldn't fight again, but it was necessary. And it made me feel better." He explained. "You see, there's this girl. I know that there usually is," he gave the tombstone a knowing look. "But this one is different, you would have loved her. She makes me happy. I can tell her things that I can't really tell other people, and she doesn't judge me at all." Sadness came to his face then. "But…I hurt her without trying to, and I don't know what to do." He sighed once more. "Perhaps I should just leave her alone, that seems to be what she wants anyways."

Akito stood, looking down at the flowers as they rustled in the breeze. That was what he would do. He would just go back to the way things were before he and Natsumi became friends. Just keep to himself and only speak when it was necessary, not really socializing at all. At least that way he wouldn't be able to upset anyone, or hurt Natsumi.

He turned from his Aunt's grave and left then, beginning to walk back to the private air port where the jet was waiting for him. He had told the pilot to give him three hours, and so he had just enough time to make it back earlier than expected. As he turned onto the main street, he saw a face that he recognized, but didn't really want to talk to. He quickly crossed the street and continued to walk towards his destination, praying that she didn't see him.

"Akito?" he heard called out, and cursed to himself. He stopped and looked at her as she crossed the street to meet up with him, his green eyes unreadable. "Oh my God! It is you Akito!" the girl exclaimed, running up to him and pressing her body against his. She had jet black hair that was clipped up, and brilliant honey brown eyes. "Akito, baby it's been far too long." She purred, reaching up and pulling off his glasses. "That's better. Now I can really see those gorgeous eyes. Why are you wearing glasses anyway?"

"Because I want to." He said, taking them back from her and placing them in his pocket.

She lifted her hand up and stroked his cheek in a caressing manner. "But baby, you look so dorky." She snickered, pressing her chest into his and feeling his hard abs beneath his shirt with her free hand.

He grabbed her hands firmly and moved them away from his person. "What do you want Hikari?"

She looked a bit confused and frowned with displeasure. "What I always want. It's been a while since you gave me special treatment, and now that you're back in Kyoto, why not pay a little visit to the bedroom? I bet you've been keeping in good shape with all those Tokyo girls. But none are as pretty as me, are they?" she asked, replacing her grip on the waist line of his pants.

"I'm sorry Hikari, but I can't." he said, not reacting to her advancements at all.

She gave him a small pout. "Aw, why not?"

"I met someone in Tokyo, and I want to stay loyal to her." Was all he said in explanation.

"Loyal?" Hikari's gaze narrowed into a glare. "Uchiha Akito, loyal? To one woman? Have you slept with her? She can't be _that_ good to make you give up the pleasures of many women."

He stiffened and gave her a harsh glare. "You know nothing about me, Hikari. Only what I allowed you to know." He removed her hands from his pants. "And now I must return to her. So if you don't mind, I have a plane to catch." He said, stepping away from her.

She practically seethed, obviously not used to rejection, since she was in fact very beautiful. "Uchiha Akito!" she snapped, following up after him and shoving her finger in his face. "You better watch that pretty little thing of yours. Because if she ever ends up here in Kyoto, bad things will happen to her. I'm sure the Mutineers would be ecstatic to hear about her. Especially Fuzen, you know how he gets with woman. So _rough_." She smirked.

He grabbed her finger harshly and pulled her to him, giving her a glare. "If they so much as touch her, they will die by my hands." He squeezed her finger painfully, causing her to let out a gasp. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut." He pushed her away from him then and resumed walking away. Then he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder, seeing her nursing her throbbing digit. "By the way, she's a lot prettier than you could ever hope to be, and she doesn't have to put out for guys to notice her." He smirked and then left the seething woman, needing to catch his plane.

* * *

Late that night, after everyone in the Uchiha household had gone to bed, Akito crept into the house, shutting the door quietly behind him. As he began to tiptoe towards his room, he froze when the front hall light turned on suddenly, revealing his Aunt Mikoto.

"Where _have_ you been? Your uncle and I have been worried sick!" she practically yelled, stomping up to him, genuine concern reflecting in her dark eyes. "Well…" she paused and thought for a moment. "_I_ have been worried sick! You can't just leave whenever you feel like it!" she set her hands on her hips angrily and then took notice of his face. She went wide eyed and held him by his cheeks, turning his head so she could better eye the cut. "Oh my God! You're hurt! Who cut you? Did you get in a fight? You can't do this Akito, you'll give me a heart attack!"

He sighed. "I'm fine Aunt Mikoto, this is nothing. I've been through worse, and you know it." He told her, grabbing her hands and lowering them from his face. "I'm sorry, I did not mean to worry you." He pat her hands then, giving her an apologetic smile. "I went to Kyoto to visit her today, that's all."

Her anger suddenly vanished and was replaced by a sad expression. She pulled him into her embrace and hugged him tightly. "You know that that's fine Akito, but you need to tell me these things. I love you like my own son, I would be devastated if something happened to you, and I didn't know where to find you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think anyone would care if I left." He said softly, returning his Aunt's embrace. "I just didn't know what to do, and I needed some guidance."

"No, no, no." she assured him, stroking his hair. "It's ok. I understand. Just tell me next time ok?" she smiled, pulling away slightly to look down at him. "And besides, all your classmates were asking about you. Toshiro and Gaara even came to see if you'd come home yet. And Sasuke said," she paused and leaned closer to him. "He said that that little girl you like was asking where you were."

Surprise flashed through his eyes. "She did?" he asked, hope showing through his voice.

"That's what Sasuke said, she even came by and was speaking to Fugaku about something after school was out." She nodded.

"Well, what were they talking about?"

Mikoto blinked and tapped her chin, deep in thought. "You know I don't know. He allowed her back into his study so they could have some privacy."

"Okay." He sighed, deciding to drop it. It probably didn't have anything to do with her forgiving him anyways. "Well, I'm going to go to bed. It's late, and I'm tired." He said.

"Yes, yes. Off to bed with you." She smiled, shooing him away. "Now I can finally go to sleep as well. Well good night my love, see you in the morning." She waved heading off to her own room. She stopped then and looked up the staircase. "Right?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I will be here in the morning for breakfast."

"Good." She smiled once more and then disappeared into the darkness.

He went upstairs and to his room, falling onto his bed with a sigh. He still wasn't entirely sure on what to do about Natsumi, but figured her would just continue to leave her alone. Her happiness was more important to him than his own after all, and if that was what she wanted, then that was what he would give her.

* * *

On Monday morning, Akito walked into class as if nothing had ever happened. The cut on his face had healed somewhat, but it was still noticeable to anyone who looked at him, since it had been pretty deep. He ignored everyone's curious gazes and took his seat silently, crossing his arms and staring at his desk.

Natsumi tried to get a good look at him with her peripheral vision, but it was only so limited. Deciding to suck up a tiny bit of her pride, she turned her upper body to face him. "Where were you? You missed class." She stated, trying to stay strong in her tone.

He turned his head and looked at her. He was surprised that she was speaking to him, but he quelled the hope that rose in him. She probably didn't care that he had been gone, most likely she was just upset because she didn't get to beat him up in gym that day. He wasn't sure if he should tell her the truth, but he wanted to be honest with her. "I went to Kyoto to visit my Aunt's grave." He said softly, the sadness in his gaze only visible to her.

Her façade actually fell for a moment and then she got a glimpse of the red marking up his face. Her eyes widened just a fraction, but he could see it clearly. "Oh," she said, quickly covering her blunder and looking away. "Well…I'm sure she liked that." She said truthfully, facing forward once more and opening her textbook.

He turned back to the front of the class as well, actually feeling a bit of happiness that she had spoken to him. "I hope so." He said softly. Then he remembered what his Aunt had said to him upon his return home, and looked at her. "What were you speaking to my Uncle about the other day? Is something wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.

She visibly stiffened and frowned. "Everything is fine. There is nothing wrong." She said quickly, avoiding his gaze until Kakashi walked in and announced that class would begin.

Akito frowned, wishing that he could know what really had happened. But he didn't say any more to her, knowing that she wouldn't tell him anyways. With a sigh, he went through the motions of school, resigning himself to another week of hell.


	16. I Need You

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Sixteen_

-I Need You-

Akito lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he threw a hacky sack up into the air and then caught it, repeating the motion. It had been four days since Natsumi had last spoken to him, and it was literally killing him. Sure he had told himself he would leave her alone, but this was almost unbearable. He finally let the ball fall down and land on the bed beside his head. He stared vacantly now, not even having the will to breathe anymore.

Suddenly, there was a buzz from his bedside table. He sat up and looked over towards the wood, seeing his phone vibrating, informing him he had a call. He sighed, not really wanting to talk to anyone, but reached over for it anyways. He glanced down at the caller I.D. and went wide eyed, flipping it open and pressing the receiving end to his ear. "Natsumi?"

He could hear loud banging coming from the other end, but nothing more. "Natsumi!"

"Akito," a soft, pained voice sobbed out. "Akito please…I need you." She whispered, sounding more scared than she had ever been. There was a loud slam and then a screech before the line went dead.

Not needing any more prompting, he jumped off his bed and threw on his shoes, shoving his phone into his pocket. He grabbed his keys and slid down the banister, running to the front door. "Aunt Mikoto, I'm going out!" he yelled before leaving the house in a rush.

He jumped on his motorcycle and sped off after putting his helmet on, weaving through the traffic towards the opposite end of town. When he reached Natsumi's apartment building, he parked his bike and took off his helmet, replacing his glasses before rushing up the stairs. He didn't bother knocking on the door, deciding to just throw it open before entering the small apartment. The sight that greeted him caused his eyes to widen. The whole placed was destroyed, the furniture was toppled over, and there were gashes in the walls. But there was no one there, and it was eerily silent.

He looked around and smelt something burning and then saw the smoke coming from the kitchen. He shifted his gaze to Natsumi's door and ran over trying to open it, but it was locked. Then he heard something, the shuffle of feet. From the other door in the room emerged the blonde, he had blood splattered on his shirt and a gash up his arm. He was holding an axe, "Come out here you stupid bitch! You wanna leave. You can leave and join that damned mother of yours!" he screamed, stopping when he saw Akito. "You! What the fuck are you doing in my house you piece of shit Uchiha?"

Akito held his arms out in a placating manner. "Now sir, let's just talk about this. Put the axe down, I don't want to hurt you." He said, keeping his voice neutral so that he didn't provoke him.

"Hurt me? HURT ME?" he shouted, going red with rage. "You're going to try and take away my property! You'll die along with her!"

"Sir, please. Take a deep breath, and just give me the axe." He tried once more. But it was no use, he ran forward and swung at Akito, trying to take a chunk out of the boy. Akito dodged out of the way, rolling on the floor before quickly getting to his feet. He decided to try one last time before he fought back. "I'm sure this can all be worked out. If you just put the axe down, we can talk rationally about this."

The man looked insane, his breath stinking of booze. "She's so pretty. That's why you like her. But she'll look so beautiful in red. Just like her mother did." He laughed sadistically, charging at Akito once more.

Having no other choice, Akito picked up a nearby lamp that was sitting on a side table and dodged out of the older man's way, hitting him over the head and shattering the lamp in the process, causing him to fall unconscious. Dropping the rest of the lamp to the floor, Akito took the axe and threw it to the other side of the room. Then he turned and walked back over to Natsumi's room. "Natsumi?" he called, knocking on the door. "It's me. Open up, your father's not a problem anymore." He said, when there was no answer he sighed and backed up a bit, positioning himself so he could bust the door in. He ran at it and slammed his body into the wood, successfully busting in. He looked around the tattered room, not seeing her anywhere.

He went to the only place left and opened the bathroom door, seeing her curled up in the corner, covering her face with one of her hands that was covered in crimson red. "Natsumi." He said, immediately going over to her and crouching next to her. "It's okay, I'm here now." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Her head short up, tears streaming down her face. "Akito!" she gasped, moving forward and wrapping her arms tightly around him. "You came." She cried, burying her face in his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her and began to stroke her head.

"Of course I came. I promised I would always be there when you needed me." He said, burying his face in the side of her neck.

"He was going to kill me," she sobbed, gripping onto the back of his shirt with one hand and reaching up with the other holding his neck down so she could feel all of him and his security. His grip on her tightened.

"I would never have allowed that to happen." He said, pulling away from her slightly and stroking her cheek. "I would die before I ever let anything happen to you." He told her, pressing his forehead against hers. She stared up into his eyes, her lips trembling from the terror that was still wracking throughout her whole body.

"B-but…you and Itachi…" she choked out, beginning to cry again.

He shook his head. "No, only Itachi. I care more about you than I do my life Natsumi, do you understand? You heard the wrong part of that conversation. I was actually trying to lecture him about what he did to you that night, not try and scheme with him against you. I swear." He told her, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"But…But you said that he ruined me for you…I don't understand." She said, still seeming skeptical. But she was trying to understand. She wanted to understand. After all, in herself preservation she had called him and no one else. Trusted him in a situation she found hopeless.

He sighed. "I…thought that you had slept with him. And…what I meant by that is…well…I really like you, more than a friend should, and so…yeah." He said, blushing slightly.

"Oh," she blinked, looking a bit embarrassed. "I didn't want to be mad at you…but you called me a whore…and then the things I heard…" she looked down, extremely saddened.

He placed his pointer finger under her chin and lifted it gently, rubbing it with his thumb. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, I swear. I was just…hurt. I thought that you were just using me for your own ends, just like every other woman in my life other than my Aunts."

"I would never." She gasped, going slightly wide eyed. "You make me let you buy me things." She pointed out, wincing and pressing her hand to her side. He glanced down and removed her hand, seeing the blood that was seeping through her shirt.

"What did he do to you?" he asked, looking up at her worriedly. "And why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

She blushed slightly, nervous and pained all at once. "Well it didn't seem that important for the time being."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course it's important. Can you stand? We need to gather as many things as we can before leaving. I want to get out of here before he wakes up."

"It wasn't important when you were apologizing." She huffed, getting up with his help. "And it doesn't hurt that bad, it's not too deep." She said, walking into her room and rummaging through her things until she found her duffle bag. "Just shove all my clothes in here." She ordered, handing it to him before sitting down on her upturned bed.

He opened all the drawers of her dresser, grabbing every article of clothing he could. Then he entered her closet and did the same. Once he finished he zipped up the bag and walked out into her room. "What else do you want? Pictures, books?" he asked, looking around the small space.

"Just that photo album on the shelf over there." She pointed towards the book shelf.

He grabbed that and put it in the duffel bag as well before slinging it over his shoulder. Then he walked over to her and picked her up. "Do you want me to take you by the hospital to be looked at?" he asked as he carried her out of her apartment.

"Um…yeah. Sure, why not. I might as well get this stitched up so it doesn't scar." She sighed, keeping her hand pressed against it to slow the bleeding.

Her nodded and shut the door behind them, carrying her down the steps. Sitting her down, he opened the trunk to his motorcycle and pulled out both helmets, handing her one to put on as he placed her things in the back. After putting his own on, he got on his bike and started it, waiting for her to get situated before speeding off to the hospital.

About two and a half hours later, they pulled into the driveway of his house. By now everyone would be in bed, and so quietly, they made their way to his room. Once his door was shut he turned to her, placing her bag next to his bed. "You can stay in here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to my Aunt about you staying with us, though I'm sure she will be fine with it. I will sleep on the couch." He said, gesturing to the small black loveseat that he'd had put in his room, since he wanted to have a place for friends to sit whenever they came over to hang out.

She looked around his room and then to his bed, finally focusing on him. "Are you sure?" she asked, looking a bit guilty. Her hand went up to her side when she felt a slight sting. Luckily, the wound hadn't been too deep and all they had to do was clean it and wrap it up. He nodded and gestured for her to go to the bed. He walked over to his closet to change into something more comfortable and not blood stained, and while he was in there she did the same.

When he came back out, she was dressed in her pajamas. They were tight black shorts and a tank top that hugged her curves perfectly, revealing a small amount of her flat stomach. When she saw him she blushed, since he was only wearing a loose pair of black pants, and climbed into his bed, resting her head on the pillow and staring up at him. "You really sure this is ok? It's your bed after all. I could sleep on the couch."

He shook his head. "It's fine. I don't want the small space to open up your wounds, and it's only for one night anyways." He told her, grabbing a spare blanket and pillow. He turned the light off in his room and got comfortable on the couch. "Goodnight Natsumi." He sighed, taking off his glasses and rubbing his face. After such a hectic day, he was exhausted, but relieved, now that they were friends again. He could only imagine how she felt.

"Good night Akito." She whispered back in the darkness, pulling up the covers over her mouth. They laid in silence for a long time. It was kind of awkward, since Natsumi had never slept in the same room as a boy before. Especially one she felt deeply for. "Akito…" she breathed out, wondering if he were still awake.

"Yeah?"

"I'm…sorry," she said quickly. "For hitting you in the head with a soccer ball."

He smiled slightly to himself. "It's okay Natsumi. I deserved it. Besides, at least you didn't hit me in the balls the way you did Sasori. While it was hilarious to see, I can't imagine how painful it was."

"Well he deserved it." She huffed. "He actually had the gall to stick his hand up Sakura's shirt and feel her up."

"Yeah, I heard about that." He said. "But at least she's with Gaara now. They seem happy."

"Yeah…" she sighed, pulling the covers up further and snuggling into the warmth. She could smell Akito within the sheets and smiled to herself. When she thought about it, she was actually jealous of Sakura. She and Gaara had been going out for almost a week now and they seemed like they were in pure bliss. She turned over a bit and shut her eyes, finally feeling herself drift off.

Akito pulled up the blanket and closed his eyes as well. He was exhausted from the day and was looking forward to getting some sleep.

* * *

Natsumi sat up, yawning silently. She glanced over at the clock and noted it was nearly three in the morning. She reached over and felt around for the bed side lamp. Once she found it, she clicked it on and slid out of bed, in need of the restroom. She got up and walked towards the door, stopping and looking down at Akito. She blinked sleepily and then walked out of the room, using the restroom. She turned on the sink and started to wash her hands. She glanced up into her reflection and then started to slow her action.

She went wide eyed and dried off her hands, running back into Akito's bed room and hovering over him in utter shock. "OH MY GOD!" she shouted, waking him up in alarm. She jumped on him, taking hold of his face and going even more wide eyed. "Holy crap! Akito! You're flipping hot! I mean…" she blushed a dark red. "I thought you were really cute before but…but…" she turned darker, going speechless.

Akito blinked at her, and then smirked. "Oh really?" he asked in interest. "So hot that you had to jump on me and straddle my waist? Hm, I must be better looking than I thought." He teased, resting his hands on her hips. She went redder, if possible, and felt her stomach drop from his contact.

"And you can see?" she asked, trying to change the conversation. She grabbed his glasses and held them up to her eyes, looking around, but not removing herself from his front. "These are fake!" she gasped, glaring down at him.

"Of course they are. I have perfect vision." He stated, rubbing her hips with his thumbs and making a shiver run up her spine. She shook her head to rid her head of the dazed feel.

"Yeah well if you have perfect vision why did you pretend to wear these glasses?" she demanded waving them in his face.

He sighed, continuing his movements with his fingers. "Because I didn't want girls to talk to me at all, just because of my looks. They don't care about my feelings or personality, and so with the glasses, the chances of that happening were less. If any were to talk to me, I wanted it to be because they actually wanted to know _me_, not my wallet or body." He confessed.

She huffed and bopped him on the head with the fake lens before tossing them over her shoulder. "That's stupid."

"Not when you look at it from my perspective. You think your fan club at school is freaky? I get mobs of girls screaming and chasing me everywhere. With the glasses, that doesn't happen." He said.

She frowned, placing her hands on his shoulders, scanning his face since it was truly the first time she had seen his whole face. "But it's not the real you."

He sat up so that their faces were inches apart. "But it allowed you to get to know the real me. If I hadn't come to school wearing those glasses and you had talked to me the way you did on that first day, I probably wouldn't have spoken to you as much, and I definitely wouldn't have been as nice. I would have automatically assumed that you were only talking to me because you thought I was attractive, just like all the other girls do." He stroked her cheek. "But you actually wanted to know the real me, the me behind the glasses." He said.

She lifted her hand, keeping his on her cheek. "But I did think you were attractive…you just looked so sad. Though….I probably wouldn't have tried to be friends with you if you looked like this." She smiled, finally looking into his beautiful green eyes for the first time. "I would have thought you were just another stuck up Uchiha." She laughed, leaning closer to him and smoothing her hands down his arms and then along his abs.

He smiled at her, the sight dazzling her as she had never seen him smile without his glasses on. "Then it's a good thing I wore them. They brought us together." He smoothed his hands along the top of her thighs. Her eyes closed and her breathing hitched. She let her hands down and rested them over his, sliding them up further.

"Akito we shouldn't…" she whined, her body saying otherwise. "We're just friends remember?"

A frown etched into his features, but he hid it quickly. "I know." He kissed her forehead then. "You should go back to bed and get some rest. Tomorrow is sure to be hectic once we explain to my family that you will be staying here." He said, reigning in his desire for her. She had just been through a traumatic event, and he had finally convinced her he wasn't after her for her body. Doing anything physical with her right now would be entirely counterproductive, and could even be considered him taking advantage of her. He knew how he felt about her, but her words fortified his belief that she didn't care for him in the same manner. His expression saddened her and she took his face in her hands, pressing her lips against his in a deep kiss.

She pulled away slightly, pressing her face against his and enjoying his presence. "I really like you Akito…I just…I can't right now." She tried to explain. As much as she wanted someone who cared about her, she didn't understand the first thing about being in a functioning relationship.

"I understand Natsumi, trust me. For the time being, I am content with your presence. You have no idea how miserable the last two weeks have been without you." He said.

She smiled, nuzzling him lovingly. "I missed you so much. I cried when you went to Kyoto." She told him, touching his lips gently with her fingertips.

He gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry. I needed to see my Aunt, clear my head. I didn't know what to do about you, since you wouldn't even look at me, and so while I was there I decided to just leave you alone, since that seemed to be what you wanted." He told her.

Natsumi pursed her lips and leaned against him, moving from her position since she could feel how much it was effective. She settled between his legs, resting her head on his chest. "Thank you for coming to get me." She said softly, pulling the blanket up and snuggling into his warmth.

He wrapped his arms around her. "It was no problem. I almost had a heart attack when I heard you on the other end of the line." He said, lying back down on the couch.

"I'm sorry I scared you…" she glanced off, placing her hands over his.

"Don't be. I'm sure you were scared enough in that moment." he sighed. "You know, if you wanted to cuddle, it would be more comfortable if we were on my bed. At least there my feet wouldn't be hanging off the edge." He said, the corner of his mouth lifting in a small smile.

She looked back at him and laughed. "Well you were the one who wanted to sleep on the couch. I would be happy to be in the bed with you." she snickered sitting up and turning around slightly. "But you better make sure you don't try anything Uchiha Akito. You can't lie to me and tell me you aren't tempted with this," she leaned a bit forward, boldly rubbing his slight erection.

She squealed, getting off him and running over to his bed, hiding beneath the sheets then. He chuckled and stood, crawling into his bed next to her. He pulled her against him, careful of her bandaged side. Bringing his mouth next to her ear, he whispered, "No sane man wouldn't be tempted by you, Natsumi. Though, I fear you might be the one to take advantage of me." He licked the shell of her ear and bit the lobe softly, making her whimper in wanting ache. "Now that you know how flipping hot I am." He said, quoting her before laying his head on his pillow next to hers.

She reached out and turned off the light, snuggling into him. "How could I take advantage of you?" she asked, walking her fingers up his chest.

He looked down at her. "Natsumi." He said a bit scornfully. "You're doing it right now. If you keep it up I won't be held responsible for my actions." He warned, still smiling so that even in the darkness, she could see he wasn't upset or anything. She just huffed and gave him a pout.

"Fine, fine. Party pooper," she said, sticking out her tongue at him. "Just…" she paused, looking up at his shadowed features. "Just kiss me one more time before we go to sleep, like we're…you know." She blushed, glad it was dark so she could hide her embarrassment.

"I know." He said softly, placing his hand at the base of her neck and bringing it closer to him. He leaned towards her and gently placed his mouth over hers, kissing her softly. He opened his mouth and traced her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance. When she gave it to him, he began a battle with their tongues, his showing his dominance. Into this kiss he poured his unspoken love, showing her with his mouth how much he cared, and how he would kiss her if they were ever to be together in such a way. When they finally broke, she looked up at him, pressing her frame against his and wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"You are my most important person Akito."

He brushed some of her bangs out of her eyes. "And you are mine Natsumi." He kissed her forehead before wrapping his arms around her. "Now sleep." He told her, shutting his eyes.

She smiled, completely content and closed her eyes as well. "Good night Akito."

"Goodnight." He mumbled, already beginning to drift off, happier than he had been in days.


	17. Welcome

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Seventeen_

-Welcome-

Itachi yawned and scratched his chest as he walked towards Akito's room to wake him up. It was Saturday, and every Saturday and Sunday his mother made the entire family eat breakfast together at eight sharp, which meant no sleeping in. Sometimes, she was a worse dictator than his father was.

He opened the door and walked in, his mouth open to tell his younger cousin to get up. He froze, his eyes widening as he saw the shape of a woman outlined underneath Akito's sheets. Tiptoeing back out of the room and shutting the door quietly, he quickly ran downstairs to the breakfast room, where everyone was waiting.

Sasuke looked dead tired, sitting in only his pajama bottoms, as each Uchiha teen preferred to sleep in, while Fugaku and Mikoto sat at each head of the table, already dressed and ready for the day. "Mother, you are not going to guess what Akito did!" Itachi said in slight glee, since he knew now the youngest Uchiha would get in trouble. "He has a girl in his room, in bed with him!" he announced. Sasuke perked up instantly.

"What?" he asked in slight confusion.

Itachi nodded. "You should punish him mother. It's not fair that he can enjoy the female company whilst I am grounded." He said.

Mikoto just stared wide eyed at her son and then looked to her husband. "What?" she stood, folding her napkin and throwing it on the table. "He knows the rules of this house!" she huffed and stomped out of the room and up the steps. When she reached Akito's bedroom door she slammed it open and stormed in. Both Akito and Natsumi sat up in alarm, staring wide eyed at the furious ebony haired woman. "Uchiha Akito! You know the rules! And how could you!" she yelled, stepping forward and setting her hands on her hips. "I thought you liked that Natsumi girl! You can't just give in to the temptations of a trollop! You need to stay strong and wait for her to come back to you!"

Natsumi just blinked and glanced at Akito curiously, who was slightly pink from embarrassment. Mikoto huffed and turned her hard gaze to the girl in her nephew's bed. "I am sorry miss. But I do not allow…and excuse my language…but tramps into my house. You are going to have to leave." She said harshly, pointing towards the door.

By then Sasuke and Itachi had their heads in the doorway, trying to see who this woman was that their cousin had brought into the house, since he was the least likely to do such an act. At least, now he was. Fugaku came in as well, having been able to hear his wife's screams from the breakfast room. When he walked into the room and saw who was in his nephew's bed, he cleared his throat. "Dear, _that_ is Natsumi." He said, nodding his head in the pink haired girl's direction. Natsumi waved a bit, making the older woman turn a dark red.

"Oh my," she breathed out, fanning herself and then laughing a bit awkwardly. "Well, I'm terribly sorry sweetheart." Mikoto said quickly, lacing her fingers together.

"It's ok." Natsumi smiled, glancing past them and seeing Sasuke and Itachi in the door way. "Excuse me Mrs. Uchiha, if you could just move to the side real fast I would greatly appreciate it."

The woman blinked and nodded stepping towards her husband. Natsumi grabbed the pillow she had been using, shoved it into the bottom of the pillow case, and threw it with as much force as she could, nailing Itachi in the face. "_You_! Go away!" she glared.

When he recovered, he stuck his head back in the room. "Oh come on Natsumi, no hard feelings, right? I promise I won't try anything ever again." He said, the corner of his mouth tilting in a friendly smile.

Mikoto's kind gaze turned back to her son, slanting into an icy glare. "_This_ is the girl you tried to do naughty things to? Uchiha Itachi! You went after the girl your cousin likes? What is wrong with you!" she demanded, walking up to him and grabbing his ear, dragging him down the hall painfully. "You and I are going to have a talk!"

Natsumi blinked and looked at Akito, both looking back when Mikoto stuck her head in. "Natsumi dear, please join us for breakfast. We're having waffles today." She smiled, disappearing once more and scolding her eldest.

Akito looked at Sasuke and Fugaku, who were still in his room. "Can you get out now?"

"Oh. Right." Fugaku said, walking out of the room and grabbing Sasuke by the ear, dragging him out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Akito let out a sigh. "Sorry about them." He said, giving Natsumi an apologetic look.

"That's ok." She smiled and leaned against him, giving him a suggestive look. "So…you like me huh?" she snickered. For some reason hearing his aunt say it made it more real.

A light blush dusted his cheeks. "Yeah…" he said slowly.

"Yeah…" she mimicked him, an evil smirk coming across her face as she stood dramatically, causing the covers to fall off both of them. "My name is Uchiha Akito. I'm really a sexy fine bad ass, but I'm going to wear dorky glasses so girls don't talk to me. But there is one, I just can't help but adore. My precious flower descended from heaven. Oh how she makes me swoon. How I cannot live without her. Her smile, her eyes, her impeccable aim that is just dead spot on."

Akito smiled slightly at her portrayal of him and tugged her back down so that she landed in his lap. Rolling a bit so that he was over her, he looked into her eyes with a smirk. "Hm…" he said, cocking his head to the side. "I don't know about the whole swooning thing, but if you want to hear about impeccable aim…well," he chuckled. "I _definitely_ have that."

She blinked and stared up at him, turning a darker red than his previous blush. "A-Aim for what?"

His smirk turned suggestive. "Do I really need to explain it to you?" he asked, raising a brow and pressing into her slightly so that she might understand what he meant. A shiver shot up her spine, igniting her whole body. Her back arched slightly, only pressing into him further.

"Akito," she breathed out, her eyes becoming slightly dazed. "It's the morning time. You can't be naughty in the morning time."

He chuckled. "Baby, I'm naughty _all_ the time." He said, kissing her forehead. "Come, we should go downstairs for breakfast before everyone comes back in here." She huffed and nipped at his lower lip before pushing him off and getting out of bed. She walked over to her bag and pulled out some of her clothes. She glanced back at him, giving him a commanding look. He sighed and turned his head away, allowing her to change. She pulled on some jeans and then a tight short sleeved black shirt.

"Alright. I'm all done." She informed him.

He got out of bed and stretched, smirking as he saw where Natsumi's gaze was directed. He picked up a shirt that had been discarded on the floor and put it on, then looked back at her. "Ready?" he asked, holding his hand out to her.

She raked a brush through her hair real quick and then ran over to him, taking his hand. "Ok! Let's go." She smiled, pulling him out the door and down the steps. They went into the dining room and Mikoto gestured for Natsumi to sit next to her.

"Come here sweetie. Sorry about this morning," she laughed. Natsumi sat down and Akito sat next to her, glaring across the table at Itachi. Sasuke was across from Natsumi. Fugaku and Mikoto were on either long ends of the table. "So what brings you here? I am still a bit curious as to why you were sleeping in Akito's bed." She asked, beginning to butter some toast a bit roughly. "So, did you…have sex? I'm not going to be getting any grandchildren am I? I'm not ready to be a grandma!" she practically yelled, making everyone stare at her in shock.

Akito sighed. "Aunt Mikoto, calm down, we didn't have sex."

"How unfortunate." Itachi mumbled as he cut into his waffles. Fugaku smacked him across the back of his head without looking up from the paper laid in front of him. "Ow." He said, putting his hand to the sore spot.

Rolling his eyes, Akito looked back at his aunt. "Actually, I was wondering if Natsumi could live with us. Things at her place aren't…stable, and it really would be for the best." He said.

Sasuke seemed to be a bit surprised by the offer. "She can't live here." He sighed, getting everyone to turn their eyes to him, all besides Fugaku. "You two live here," he said, glancing at his brother and then his cousin. "And clearly she isn't safe around either of you. I will call Gaara and ask him if she can stay there." The ebony haired boy nodded and stuck some waffle in his mouth.

"No. I don't want her to stay at Gaara's. If she isn't here, then I can't make sure she's okay and protect her." Akito said, glaring at his cousin. "Besides, it isn't your call as to whether or not she stays. We have plenty of room, and we all know Aunt Mikoto would like to have another woman in the house."

Her eyes brightened up and Mikoto stared at her husband from across the table, waiting for him to feel her stare. "Honey, you know how I've always wanted a daughter. We could adopt her!"

Itachi spit out his orange juice and tried to wipe up the mess as Natsumi just stared wide eyed at the woman. "Oh no, that's not necessary. I couldn't." she shook her head quickly.

"Now, now." Mikoto waved her off with a smile. "Of course it's necessary." She said, returning her attention back to her husband.

Fugaku just turned the page of his newspaper and reached for his glass of orange juice, taking a sip. Mikoto cleared her throat, her gaze turning into a glare. "Fugaku." She said darkly, tapping her fingers on the mahogany table.

He glanced up at her. "Hm?"

"Don't make me repeat myself." She warned, sparking everyone's interest.

He let out a breath. "We would need to get her a black card. And redo one of the guest bedrooms."

Mikoto squealed and clapped her hands together happily. "I'll call the interior designer today. We can go pick out the paint and of course we'll have to go shopping. I'll have to call the bank, Natsumi, sweetie would you like to come with me?" she smiled looking over at the pink haired girl.

Said girl just stared, in utter disbelief. "Um…but…I'm not…my dad…I couldn't…" she mumbled, not able to form a coherent sentence. This was just too much. She didn't want to go back to her house and see her father. He would kill her, or at least try to again. She couldn't live with Sakura, since it was too close to her house. And she couldn't do that to her aunt, they just wouldn't be able to afford another head.

Mikoto reached over and placed her hand over Natsumi's. "It's ok. You're Sasuke's friend, and you're going to marry Akito eventually, right? So you might as well join the family now." She smiled, tightening her hold. Natsumi just blushed, looking around at the others, but stopping on Fugaku. She really didn't want to inconvenience or annoy anyone.

"Don't worry about your father. I will call the family lawyer after breakfast and take care of everything. If I have my way he won't be allowed to come within a thousand feet of you." The head Uchiha said, returning to his newspaper.

"Well…" she looked down and then back to Mikoto. "I mean if you're offering. I've never really gotten to have a good family before." She smiled.

Mikoto gave her a sympathetic look but nodded. "Then it's settled." The elder woman smiled back.

"Okay, hold on a second." Itachi interjected, raising his fork and pointing it at Akito. "He runs off to Kyoto, does God only knows what, comes home and then has a girl in his bed and…the logical way we are handling this…is asking her to live with us? Am I the only one who sees the problem here?"

"Apparently." Mikoto said simply, giving Natsumi another grin. Sasuke just smirked, continuing his breakfast in silence.

"This family is so messed up." The eldest said, returning to his breakfast.

Akito placed his hand on Natsumi's knee under the table and rubbed it tenderly, giving her a pleased look. Finally, everything seemed like it was beginning to go right in his life.


	18. Winter Break

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Eighteen_

-Winter Break-

"Boys! Boys! Get down here now or we're going to miss the flight! The Sabakus are already at the airport!" Mikoto yelled up the steps, tugging up her Prada gloves and looking down at the pink haired girl beside her. "Ah, Natsumi you are the only one I can depend on to be ready when needed." She smiled, placing her hand on top of the girl's head, running her fingers through her hair.

Natsumi just smiled. She was dressed for winter and ready for this trip, wearing flared jeans over her boots. She wore a short white skirt over the blue jeans and a tight, black, long sleeved shirt that went to her fingertips. Every year the Uchihas and the Sabakus went to Hokkaido for the entire break. They co-owned an entire ski resort up in the mountains, which was a popular site. She looked around the foyer, already used to the house that had become her home. It had been a long and tedious process, but finally the lawyers had managed to rip her custody from her father and get a restraining order.

Mikoto had been absolutely wonderful, showering her with affection and love. They had decorated her room and even given her one with her own bathroom. It was like a dream come true. Though, she and Akito had to be sat down and new rules were laid down, since she didn't want them sleeping in the same bed anymore.

Gaara and Sakura had been going out for a little over a month now, and it was all her cousin could talk about. Gaara this, and Gaara that. Not that Gaara wasn't great and all, but she could only take so much of her only close relative's happiness. It was a bit sickening. Mikoto huffed and leaned down, grabbing her hand bag and snapping to order the butlers to pick up hers and Natsumi's things. "That's it!" she called, breaking Natsumi from her thoughts. "We're leaving without you! And I am going to find some men for Natsumi and myself up in Hokkaido, who doesn't keep us waiting!"

Fugaku walked in then, straightening his coat. "Calm down woman, before you disturb the neighbors." He said, picking up one of her bags to carry to the car for her.

"We don't have neighbors close enough to hear darling." She said, buttoning her own cream colored coat. "Come Natsumi." Mikoto smiled, placing her hand on the girl's back and leading her outside as all their luggage was loaded into the limo. "Dear, did you pack everything you need?" she asked her husband, giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek as he came around from the trunk.

"Yes." He said, just as Akito, Itachi, and Sasuke came out.

"Sorry it took so long mother. Akito misplaced something, and we had to help him find it." Sasuke said, putting his things in the trunk as the other two did.

"What did you misplace?" Natsumi asked curiously, wrapping her scarf around her neck and pulling on her gloves to protect from the cold.

Akito looked up at her as he shut the trunk, since everything was packed. "Just something small, it's nothing of consequence." He told her, holding the door open to their limo that was going to take them to the airport.

She smiled at him and got in, followed by Mikoto. "This sure is going to be a cold winter." The elder woman said, leaning against her husband, who was working from his iPhone.

"Mhm." He nodded, not really paying her any attention. Akito got in and sat next to Natsumi as Sasuke and Itachi slid into place, closing the door behind them.

"This is going to be fun." Natsumi smiled, leaning against Akito and holding onto his arm. He smiled at her.

"Are you excited?" he asked.

She nodded, "So who's all going?"

Mikoto looked over then. "That annoying blonde boy isn't coming is he? He almost burned the lodge down the last time we went."

"I'm pretty sure Gaara invited him. Everyone from our class is going basically." Sasuke said, putting his headphones to his iPod in.

"No one even likes that freak." Itachi said, rolling his eyes.

"I like him." Natsumi said, sticking her tongue out at the elder brother.

"Well you're the only one who likes him then." Itachi said, opening a book he had brought along for the plane ride.

The ride to the airport wasn't too long, and once they arrived they grabbed their things and walked in, seeing a fairly large group waiting for them. Mikoto walked up to the elder men, two being twins and the other a more stern looking one, much like her husband. They were all working from their phones and their Bluetooth's.

"Hello Mikoto. Fugaku." Masahiko, Gaara's father, said, only sparing them a quick glance before returning to his previous occupation. His eyes dropped from his work and looked at the pink haired girl who had come to Mikoto's side. "So this is the girl. Hm, seems it's a new fad to have cute little pink haired girls around. Somewhat like a puppy I suppose." He shrugged, speaking about his son's own infatuation. Natsumi frowned, not particularly liking the fact she was being compared to a dog. Sakura just rolled her eyes, used to the head Sabaku's attitude, and coming up to her cousin to give her a hug.

"I'm so glad you get to come too Natsumi. This trip is going to be so much fun!" she said, smiling brightly. Natsumi mirrored her cousin's expression and hugged her back tightly.

"Well we couldn't just leave her home all by herself." Mikoto said, patting both girls on the head before heading off to the terminal. "Come on boys. We don't want to miss our flight." She called.

Natsumi watched the older woman's back and then turned back to Sakura. "I'm glad I could come too, guess I'm just lucky."

"Well, it's about time things turned around for you. You deserve it." She said, then grabbed Gaara by the hand and kissed him lightly. "Come on, I want to sit next to you." She said, beginning to lead him off.

"Where else would you sit?" he laughed, pulling her closer. Natsumi stared after them, something churning in her stomach. They looked so happy together, no troubles, no worries. She never saw them fighting or anything. And Gaara was nothing but kind to her, and bought her things she deserved. She found herself growing jealous. Why did Sakura get a perfect relationship? She sighed, brushing the thoughts aside. She shouldn't feel contempt just because her cousin was finally in the perfect world.

Akito came up beside her. "Want to sit next to me on the flight?" he asked.

She glanced up at him and smiled sadly, but took his hand to show him it was nothing to worry about. "Yes, I really would."

He led them towards the plane terminal, giving her a curious look. "You know, for someone who was full of excitement on the way here, you don't seem all that thrilled to go." He observed, worried about her. She blinked but shook her head quickly.

"Oh no. I really am…" she sighed then and looked off. "It's just Sakura. All she talks about these days is Gaara and how fantastic it is having him as a boyfriend. It's just beginning to annoy…you know?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah, but they're still in their honeymoon phase, as I call it. Pretty soon she'll go back to normal and stop talking about him all the time. Though, I did hear she was able to get an A in math because of him."

She shrugged, lacing her fingers with his as they followed the group. And Sasuke was right, almost everyone in their class was there. Sasori, Toshiro, and Temari were standing together. Shikamaru was studying a map, looking bored out of his mind. Minako and Hinata were standing around their father, their elder cousin, Neji, was with his girlfriend, Tenten. Naruto was hovering around the silent Hyuuga, talking about planes and such in attempts to impress her. Even Kiba and Ino were there. They all boarded the private plane, taking their seats after securing their carry-on.

Sasori and Itachi took the front two, both opening books that had playboy hidden inside of them, since it was most likely the only entertainment they would see this break. Naruto and Sasuke were behind them, the middle Uchiha turning up the volume on his iPod so he didn't have to hear the blonde. Temari and Shikamaru found their seats, next to the elders of the siblings. Mikoto and Fugaku took the back seats so they would have to deal with the excess teenagers, with the Hyuuga men in front of them and Masahiko beside them.

Gaara allowed Sakura to have the window seat, as Toshiro and Minako sat next to each other with Kiba and Ino behind them, then Neji and Tenten. Naruto called Hinata over to sit in the empty seat across the aisle from him so he could switch back and forth between who he was sitting next to. Natsumi walked down the aisle with Akito close behind and took one of the open seats. He sat next to her and leaned back, letting out a deep breath. She looked over at him, her eyes focusing on the small hint of a scratch that was still healing on his cheek. She lifted her hand and traced the small scratch and frowned.

He turned his head to look at her. "I got into a fight." He said softly, placing his hand over hers to keep it against his cheek. She pushed the arm rest up and moved closer to him, caressing his cheek.

"Why?"

His dark green eyes became shadowed then. "I ran into Fuzen when I went Kyoto. It was unavoidable. But he cheated and drew a knife on me."

Her eyes widened and she held his face gently, positioning herself as she moved her hand from his cheek and kissed the healing flaw. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder. "It was my fault…I'm so sorry."

Akito brought an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. "No it wasn't. I needed to go and visit her anyways, since her birthday was nearing. Besides, I'd be a coward if I ran from my past demons. And I am no coward."

"But you wouldn't have gone if we weren't fighting. And you wouldn't have gotten hurt." She said looking up at him. "I promise, next time I will be there to protect you."

He smiled at her and stroked her cheek. "I'm counting on it." He said, though he didn't put much merit into that promise. As the man he was supposed to protect her. She was so delicate and fragile sometimes, he didn't see how she could protect him, or when a situation would arise to where he needed protecting. He had gone most of his life taking care of himself, and so didn't expect anyone to be there for him.

"Good. I want you to have faith in me Akito." She smiled, cupping his face and searching his beautiful eyes. "Because I lo-l…like you a lot." She quickly corrected herself as to not frighten him. She felt so strongly for him, but it wouldn't do well to scare him off with such powerful words.

His brow furrowed slightly at her stumble in speech. He could have sworn she was about to say that she loved him, and he had felt hope surge within him. But when she corrected herself, he had to hold in a disappointed sigh. No matter. He had been giving their relationship a lot of thought, and at the right time on New Year's, he was going to tell her the extent of his feelings for her, and let her decide where their relationship was going to go.

The plane took off then, ascending into the sky. Sakura grabbed Gaara's sleeve and pointed out her window excitedly. "Gaara, look! Everything's so small." She exclaimed, nearly pressing her face against the window as she looked down to the ground. She had never been on a plane before, and so was acting like a child in a candy shop.

"Yes, I know." Gaara said, trying not to seem uninterested. He, on the other hand, had been on a plane many times. "Don't stare out the window too long Sakura, or you'll get plane sick and that is no fun at all."

She immediately faced forward in her seat, bringing her hands into her lap and fidgeting slightly, casting a few sparing glances out the window. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gaara smirk at her, and hit him lightly in the arm. "Stop laughing at me!" she pouted, though it was clear by the small smile on her face that she wasn't upset.

He just shrugged. "What? You're just really funny is all."

"Humph." She said, getting comfortable in her seat and resting her head on his shoulder. "Meanie." She took his hand in hers and laced their fingers together, as was one of her favorite things to do.

Gaara simply laughed, looking down at her. "So, are you excited? Have you ever bee skiing before?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, just sledding, which I know is completely different, so you'll have to teach me." She smiled up at him.

"Oh, I don't ski. So you'll have to learn from Toshiro." He smirked, leaning down and pressing his forehead against hers.

"What do you do? Snowboard?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yup. Sasuke and I race every year. Naruto always hits a tree and Kiba always impresses Ino."

She giggled. "I can't wait to see it." She kissed him then. "I'm sure you'll win."

"I usually do," he smirked, glancing over then. "So has anyone else noticed that Akito is no longer wearing his fake glasses?"

Sakura arched a delicate brow and leaned closer to him. "Fake? You knew they were fake?"

He scoffed and rolled his pale jade eyes. "Of course I knew they were fake. Everyone knows Uchihas have perfect eye sight."

"Oh. Well Natsumi told me all about it, but I don't think anyone else has really noticed. Either that or they don't really care." She said.

"Hm. Just something I noticed. At least he actually looks like he should." He laughed.

Sakura snickered. "Yeah, it was kinda weird seeing an Uchiha with glasses." She placed both her hands on his cheeks and gave him a serious look. "But I want you to know, that I will still love you if you have to get glasses some day." She told him, the corner of her mouth tilting as she tried to hide her smile.

He arched what could be a brow and gave her a skeptical look. "I can assure you that will be a very, very long time from now. And if I must, I'll be rocking those glasses." He smirked, leaned down and kissing her softly. She returned his kiss, smiling when she pulled away.

"Hm…my sexy redheaded nerd. I could dig that." She said, earning her a roll of eyes.

The rest of the plane ride was pretty uneventful. Hinata and Naruto talked the whole way, mostly her just listening to him speak. Minako and Toshiro discussed a few things, but for the most part they just stared at each other. Kiba spent the entire time telling Ino about all the things he was going to show her in order to impress her, though it was pretty much the same stuff every year. Natsumi and Akito cuddled, and Gaara and Sakura switched between talking, silence, and teasing. Sasori and Itachi kept to themselves, and Shikamaru took a nap next to an upset Temari. The adults did their own thing in the back, pretty much working on their laptops, since their phones had to be turned off for the flight.

Eventually they landed and got into two separate cars for the drive to the large ski resort they would be staying in. Once they arrived, the rest of the day was spent unpacking and settling in, since they would be there for two weeks. Gaara and Akito gave Sakura and Natsumi a tour of the place, since they were the only ones who had never been, and after the group ate dinner together, everyone went off to their rooms, wanting to get as much rest as possible for the next day, which was sure to be filled with lots of fun in the snow.

It was near midnight when Natsumi poked her head into the hall and glanced around making sure that no one was around. She looked down at her new night gown, which was white and stopped just below her butt, a bit skimpy, but it called for the moment. She pushed up her breasts, giving them a little lift and hurried down the hall, stopping at Akito's room. She pushed the door open and closed it silently before locking it. She had to let her eyes adjust to the darkness first before hurrying over to his bed and crawling on the soft sheets.

"Akito," she whispered, poking at his chest and successfully rousing him from his dazed state, since he most likely was just on the verge of sleep.

Akito blinked, taking in her appearance. "Natsumi? What are you doing here? And what are you wearing?" he asked as he sat up, intrigued at her choice of clothes.

She smiled at him, placing her finger over his lips to silence any more of his questions. "I never got to properly thank you for all you did for me."

He raised a silent brow, the corner of his mouth lifting against her finger. "Thank me?"

She nodded, "Since well," she blushed darkly, though he couldn't tell in the dim light that was let in from the window. "I'm still not ready for…_that_, I thought I might be able to give you some sort of compensation." She said, poking her fingers together nervously, before leaning forward and resting her hand on his groin.

His eyes widened and shot to her hand and then back up to her face. "Um…" he said, not really able to think clearly. "Natsumi, you don't have to. If it makes you uncomfortable, I don't want you to go out of your way just for me."

"Oh this doesn't make me uncomfortable." She smirked, enjoying how much power she had over him at this moment. "I'm just not ready to give you all of my body yet. But there are things I am willing to try, just for you." She whispered, pressing her lips against his in a soft kiss as she moved her hand, beginning to rub him.

Akito moaned into her mouth, placing his hand on the back of her head and deepening their kiss. His body instantly reacted to her touch, and even he was surprised at how she could so easily affect him. She pulled a bit away, breaking their kiss before shoving him back down onto his back. She pulled the covers back hesitantly and moved to his side. A huge blush spread across her cheeks, "Ok so this is the first time I've ever done anything like this, so if I'm doing anything wrong please tell me." She said gripping the hem of his boxers and pulling them down slowly. She just needed to make sure she didn't get too embarrassed from the sight.

"I'm sure you'll do things just fine, but I will." He said, watching her in anticipation.

She took a fortifying breath and with one last tug, the boxers were down to his knees. She had to control her reactions and stop herself from blushing further. Since, if too much blood rushed to her head she would faint. "Ok," she said softly, placing herself between his legs and taking hold of the only part of him she had yet to see. She stroked him softly, experimenting where she got the most reaction from.

His entire body stiffened and he gripped the sheets tightly. "Yes, just like that." He said, wanting to encourage her. She shivered a bit, glad she was at least doing the right thing now. After all, she did know where the most sensitive parts of his body were due to clinical. Without giving herself time to have a second thought, she lowered her head, wanting to show him just how much she cared for him.

* * *

Itachi walked down the hall, downing the rest of his tea. He hadn't been able to sleep well and thought the hot liquid would soothe his throat. He slowed his pace when he saw one of the doors open and a small frame crept out, shutting the door silently. He sped up slightly and came up behind the girl, making her back into him.

Natsumi nearly shrieked, covering her mouth so she wouldn't emit the sound. She turned around and went wide eyed. "Itachi!"

"Now what are you doing coming out of Akito's room this late?" he asked, taking in her attire and frowning. "And dressed like this…" he continued, pulling on one of the bows. She smacked his hand away quickly and glared at him.

"None of your business."

He crossed his arms and raised a brow. "So the innocent little flower is a naughty one, hm?" he asked her, smirking.

"I'm not naughty." She countered angrily. "We didn't have sex if that's where your dirty mind was."

"No, I would have heard your screams if you had." He said as her words narrowed down what they had been doing. He was an expert in the field of pleasure after all. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your little…adventure." He told her.

"Don't make me hurt you again Itachi." She warned, pointing up at him.

He held his hands up in a placating manner. "Hey, I'm just trying to help you. Besides, the last time you hurt me, Akito practically broke my nose as well, and I would rather not go through _that_ again."

She watched him suspiciously but then backed away. "Alright then. I will see you in the morning." She said, walking away and back to her room. Sasori came out of his room then, looking slightly confused. He stopped next to Itachi and glanced towards his friend.

"What's going on?" the redhead asked.

"Natsumi just got done giving my younger cousin a blow job." Itachi said simply.

Sasori almost laughed. "Now that is _very_ interesting."

"Isn't it though? I am envious of him, but I'm going to be a good man and let Akito keep his toy all to himself." He sighed. "God I hate being nice."

"Hey…he's not _my_ cousin. So I don't have boundaries with that pretty little thing." Sasori smirked, taking another appreciative glance at the girl's behind before she went into her room.

Itachi looked at the redhead. "I wouldn't recommend it." He smirked. "Just remember what she did to you for putting the moves on Sakura." He reminded. "Imagine what she'd do to you if you actually went for her."

He went wide eyed and his hand went instantly to his pelvis. "Ah…" he winced, remembering the pain. "That was so…so…awful. I cried Itachi. I actually cried."

The Uchiha chuckled. "Exactly my friend. Besides, she doesn't know it yet, but Akito is going to make their relationship official on this trip. So, however unfortunate, she _is_ off limits."

Sasori arched a curious brow. "Is that so? Do enlighten me as to why." He smirked. Itachi placed and arm around his friend's shoulder and smirked.

"Well let me tell you what the plan is…" he began, leading the redhead off.


	19. Snowball Fight

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Nineteen_

-Snowball Fight-

"Oh I just love snow!" Natsumi exclaimed, running out into the knee high white powder. She had on big, fuzzy show boots that covered the bottom of her tight black pants. She snuggled into her fluffy black jacket and secured her white scarf around her neck. She pulled up her hood, which was lined with white fluff, and looked around the amazing landscape. "This is going to be so fun!"

Ino walked out, dressed in the best winter fashion, looking around, with Kiba by her side. "Baby look, we can make a snow fort with it this high."

"And have it invisible from above!" Kiba snickered, pumping his fist in the air. Gaara just sighed, watching his other siblings already playing in the snow. Even Sasori, who smacked Itachi in the face with a snowball, earning himself one in return.

Sakura came up to Gaara with her arms behind her back, giving him a mischievous look. She had on a pair of dark blue jeans and black snow boots that were lined with fur, and a puffy white jacket. She had a red scarf tied around her neck, and some matching earmuffs, with black gloves. "You look hot Gaara. Why not cool off?" she asked, quickly shoving a ball of snow in his face and bursting into laughter.

The redhead shivered, and wiped the snow from his face, trying not to show too much irritation since it was Sakura. "Haha." He sighed, trying to shake off the rest and straightening his jacket. This was why he hated the snow.

She came over to him and wiped off the chunks he missed. "Well, if I knew you were going to get a little cranky I wouldn't have done it." She commented, kissing him when she finished. "Do you not like the snow?" she asked.

"I hate the snow." He said, relaxing a bit. This was one of the reasons he had fallen for her. She was always understanding.

"I'm sorry." She framed his face with her hands and rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs. "We can go inside if you want to. Or go do something else."

He shook his head, "No, no. Go have fun. I really don't want to be the damper on your afternoon. We always have the evening after all." He smiled.

She smiled brightly at him. "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like I'm neglecting you. After all," she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I have to make sure my man is happy."

He held her face in one of his hands and nodded. "Please go. You will upset me if I keep you away from having fun. I will join you later. I promise."

"Okay." She kissed him once more before running off to join Ino and Kiba in building their snow fort.

Akito came up behind Natsumi and wrapped his arms around her. "Hello beautiful." He said in her ear. He was dressed in a pair of baggy black snowboarding pants and boots, a black turtleneck, and black jacket.

She giggled and turned around in his embrace, snuggling into his warmth. "Hello there handsome." She teased, kissing along his jaw.

He smiled down at her. "So, what do you want to do?" he asked.

"I dunno. I've never been to a kind of place like this." She said, shrugging.

"Hey Natsumi!" Toshiro yelled, running up through the snow. The two looked over to the youngest redhead as he continued. "I heard you gave Akito a special treat the other night, some nice lollipop sucking?" he snickered, making her go wide eyed and stark white. She glared up at Akito, her grip on his tightening painfully.

"You _told_ him?"

He winced at how hard she was gripping him. "I'm sorry, was I not supposed to? I mean, he is my best friend, other than you, and I thought it was normal to share those kinds of things." He said.

"AGH!" she yelled, throwing her hands up in the air, pure rage on her face. "I can't believe you Akito!" she huffed, stomping off towards the doors. Gaara just watched her pass him and then back over at Akito after the pink haired girl slammed the door.

"She gave you a blowjob?"

Akito looked at him. "Don't tell anyone." He ordered before following Natsumi so that he could smooth things over. He caught up to her just as she reached the top of the stairs. "Natsumi, wait! I'm sorry, I don't really know how these types of things work." He said, getting in front of her.

She gave him another harsh glare and tried to move around him, but he moved in front of her once more. Natsumi huffed and crossed her arms. "Why would you tell anyone that? I mean…" she turned a dark, blood red. "That was just…you and me."

"But, it was so amazing." He said, meaning every word. "I promise I won't tell anyone anything we ever do again. And, I didn't think Toshiro was going to bring it up to you. So, I _definitely_ won't be telling him anything like that ever again."

Natsumi just sighed and crossed her arms, glaring off with a small pout on her face. "Hmpf."

He turned her face back to him and kissed her lightly. "If you want, I could always return the favor."

Her eyes widened slightly and she glanced around, making sure that no one was around to hear their conversation. "Well…I, um." She swallowed hard, smoothing her hands up his chest. "I have been curious…"

"So, your room, or mine?" he asked, raising a brow at her.

"Whichever is closest." She breathed out, leaning against him. Smirking, he picked her up and carried her to his room, setting her down on his bed. He took off his gloves, and then his jacket.

"You'll want to take off your jacket too, otherwise you'll get really hot." He advised, moving to slip off his boots. She watched his actions and did the same, pulling if her gloves and then her scarf, followed by her boots. She unzipped her jacket and tossed it to the floor, starting to unbutton her white shirt, revealing a white lacey bra.

"Is this good?" she asked, lacing her fingers together and watching him carefully. Her shirt was left open but she kept it on, not really knowing what more to do.

He looked up at her, his gaze zeroing in on her exposed skin. "Yes." He stood then, and moved over her, placing his hand on her stomach and pushing her back a bit so that she laid down. "Nervous?" he asked, looking down at her.

She huffed, "Of course I'm nervous. I've never done anything like this before." She stuck her tongue out at him, but felt her stomach drop. Would this be ok? They were supposed to be trying to be friends. If he saw her most private area, would he be able to stop? Would _she_ be able to stop?

He kissed her deeply, wanting to ease her nerves. "I promise I will stop if you ask me to Natsumi." He told her when they broke for air.

"I know," she stared up at him, searching his eyes for any deception that might have been hidden. "I trust you." She breathed out, closing her eyes.

Akito kissed her once more and then began a path across her jaw and then down her neck, licking and kissing her until he reached the swell of her breast, where he bit her softly, soothing his tongue over the bite. She gasped, her eyes flashing open from the sensation. She felt butterflies in her stomach and lowered one of her hands, resting it on his head, gripping his hair tightly, trying to egg him on. "W-we're not friends…are we?" she mumbled, almost incoherently.

"No, we're much more than that." He murmured into her skin as his hands lowered to her pants and undid them, pulling them, along with her underwear, down slowly. She bit down on her lower lip, staring up at the ceiling so she wouldn't lose her cool.

"Then…what are we?"

"Soul mates." He said, fully removing the clothes from her lower half. He kissed the edge of her inner thigh and rubbed them soothingly, looking up at her. She was smiling, her eyes shut, but it was obvious she was trying to control her breathing. He could feel her heart thumping from his position and knew she was a mess of tight nerves just waiting to be untangled.

"Soul mates." She repeated, covering her face with one of her hands. "So I belong to you."

"And I belong to you." Akito told her softly, spreading her legs and getting a look at her hidden treasure. He slowly brought his hand closer to her pelvis, gauging her reaction. He didn't want to do anything that would make her uncomfortable after all. But her free hand lowered, taking his own and pressing it against her wet folds. She almost went crazy from just his touch.

She groaned, a blush burning across her cheeks. "God, I'm such a virgin."

"But you're a hot virgin." He assured her, stroking her heat with his finger and inserting it into her small hole.

Her whole body tightened and he could feel it from her insides. "Oh God." She gasped out, gripping the sheets tightly so she could try and ground herself to her body. Akito began to pump his finger in and out of her, adding a second when he felt she was ready. Smirking to himself as he watched her face, he dipped his head and licked her small bud before sucking it into his mouth, continuing his motions with his hand. Her whole body arched, making his fingers dip further into her. "Akito!" she screamed out, grabbing a fist full of his hair and forcing him against her. She needed more of him, more than he was giving her.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Kiba, Ino, Minako, and Hinata ran in, all with a snowball. "Sneak attack!" they yelled, before going wide eyed and stopping dead in their tracks. Natsumi sat up and turned an unhealthy red, grabbing her shirt and pulling it together to hide her flesh.

"OH MY GOD!" she screamed, hiding her face. Akito was over her in an instant, covering her exposed lower half from the others.

"What do you people not understand about a closed door? Get out!" he yelled with a harsh glare, pointing to the door.

Hinata, so timid and shy, promptly fainted onto her younger cousin, who caught her with a bit of difficulty, both dropping their snowballs. "S-sorry Akito-kun! Natsumi-chan!" she said, backing out of the room and she dragged Hinata with her.

Ino and Kiba were just wide eyed, until Akito shouted once more making them run out and slam the door behind them. Natsumi just groaned, running her hand down her face. "We need to lock the door next time."

"Yeah." He sighed, bringing the hand that had previously been pleasuring her up between them. Seeing the juices coating his two fingers, he locked gazes with her and stuck them in his mouth, licking them clean. Her eyes widened and she watched him carefully, finally glancing up and meet his hard gaze.

"Are you trying to embarrass me?" she asked, smiling softy.

Akito smirked and pulled his fingers from his mouth. "No. I can't help it that you taste so divine." He said.

She laughed. "Tease."

He kissed her lightly, enjoying her laughter. "Well, I suppose we should rejoin everyone else, unless you wanted me to finish. Though, by now I'm sure they all know what we're doing." He said, becoming a bit more serious. She sighed and nodded.

"Yes I suppose you're right. How come Itachi and Sasori make this whole…sexual actions thing look so easy to accomplish but it's not."

"Because they make it known when they are going off to do sexual things. And people know not to just walk into their rooms when the doors are closed, not unless they want to get an eyeful." He told her.

She stared at him curiously. "So we have to tell people?"

"No." he shook his head. "We just have to do it when nobody is around, or, like you said, lock the door."

Natsumi just sighed again and looked around for her pants. "Well, let's go outside I guess." She frowned, looking down at his body, protectively over hers. "Thank you…" she said softly, glancing off with a small blush.

"You're welcome. Nobody but me is allowed to see your body." He declared possessively, kissing her cheek before moving away so that she could right her clothing. They both dressed back in their winter clothes and wrapped up before leaving the room and heading back outside, where every eye turned on them.

"Yeah. Yeah." Natsumi grumbled, not even caring anymore. Kiba hide behind his fort and peeked out through the eye hole.

"So…?" he began nervously. "You guys wanna have a snowball fight?"

"Whose idea was it to come up to my room?" Akito asked, crossing his arms and looking around the group. Sasori and Itachi glanced at one another and then slowly sunk down into the snow. Sasori peeked his head over slightly.

"At least tell me you had sex with her this time. I don't think I'll be able to hold myself back if she's a virgin for much longer."

Natsumi just rolled her eyes, not having the energy to deal with the perverts, while Akito's eye narrowed. "You two are dead." Was all he said as he gathered some snow in his hands.

Sasori stood and smirked. "What are you going to do pretty boy? Throw snow in my face? Yeah, that'll stop me from fucking that tight, tight pussy." Natsumi went wide eyed, as did almost everyone else.

Gaara just glared at his elder brother. "Just shut up Sasori."

"Oh that is it!" Akito yelled angrily, dropping the snowball as he tackled the eldest redhead to the ground and punched him in the jaw before anyone knew what had happened.

"Akito!" Natsumi shouted, as Sasori grabbed onto the younger boy, rolling over him and slamming his head into the ground, successfully making him a bit dazed.

"You stupid little Uchiha! You think you can treat me like we're family. I don't take shit like this from you!" he snapped, punching Akito right in the face, already seeing the bruise forming on his cheek.

"Stop it!" Natsumi shrieked, jumping onto Sasori's back and trying to pull him off. Gaara and Toshiro came up, Toshiro pulling Natsumi back as Gaara ripped his brother off Akito.

"What the hell is your problem?"

Sasori just wiped his bleeding nose and cracked his neck. "Shut up Gaara you need to back off, you already got your little prize, but at least you have the balls to actually claim her. Unlike this useless idiot."

Akito stood and rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck as well. "I'm not going to force Natsumi to do anything she isn't ready for, unlike _some_ people would." He emphasized, glaring at Sasori. "And if you so much as think of Natsumi in a sexual manner, I will kill you."

"Cousin, I do not think it is wise to make such threats." Itachi said, causing Akito's glare to turn to him.

"Shut up Itachi. If he can't keep his dick to himself where Natsumi is concerned, I will chop it off, one way or another." He said, pointing at the eldest redhead.

Sasuke held in a snicker at his cousin, never thinking that he was this funny when angered. Though, he hoped that he and Akito never got into a fight like this. Lord only knows how it would end.

Not wanting another fight to start, since it made her uncomfortable, Sakura came up, standing beside Gaara. "Maybe you two should just separate for the time being and cool off." She suggested softly.

"Whatever." Sasori snapped, walking off with Itachi not too far behind, since he didn't want to be left with the younger ones. Natsumi ran over to Akito and examined his face, touching the bruise gently.

"Akito. Are you ok?" she asked, looking extremely worried.

He let out a frustrated sigh, but was surprised that her touch alone was already making his anger dissipate. "Yes, I have suffered worse, after all." He said, looking down at her and tenderly stroking her cheek.

She leaned against him, hugging him tightly. Gaara watched them and then glanced down at Sakura. "I'm at least glad they have backed off of you." He said, brushing some of her bangs behind her ear.

Sakura smiled at him. "Me too. Though, the fact that their reasoning for that is because I'm not a virgin any more is a little twisted, but whatever." She sighed, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against him slightly. "Gaara, do think of me the same way Sasori does? As a prize?" she couldn't help but wonder. She had always thought of herself as an independent individual, though now that she had Gaara, they were codependent on each other, in a way. But the fact that the eldest redhead talked of her like she was just an object bothered her.

Gaara shook his head quickly. "Sakura…please don't take this the wrong way. You are a prize…in a sense. Not that I want you for some collection or anything, just that I won the prize in the end. Do you understand what I am saying?" he asked, taking her hands in his and pulling her closer. "You're like a treasure I was lucky enough to find and fought for to make sure no one bad could take you."

She smiled brightly. "I understand." She brought her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you." She whispered in his ear, nuzzling his neck with her cold nose.

"I love you too," he whispered back, kissing her cheek.

Natsumi just rolled her eyes, "Get a room."

"Okay!" Sakura declared, grabbing Gaara's hand. "Don't disturb us, or I will kill you." She said, leading her redhead back towards their lodgings.

Minako watched them leave and then looked around at everyone. "Does this mean we're not having a snowball fight?" she asked, slightly disappointed.

"Guess not," Ino sighed. "Well I'm cold. Come on Kiba let's go get some hot chocolate." The brunette followed after her a big smile on his face.

Toshiro perked up. "That sounds delicious! Let's get some Minako!" he said, dragging her inside.

"Hey! Wait for us! Come on Hinata-chan!" Naruto shouted, his head appearing out of a hole the he had made from the underground snow fort. He grabbed the shy Hyuuga and dragged her behind him, her stuttering the entire way. Sasuke glanced at the last two people that were left.

"I am tired of being around people, so I'll see you two later." He waved, walking off.

Akito looked back down at Natsumi. "I'm sorry if I scared you…when I attacked Sasori." He said.

"No…it's fine." She said, glancing up at him but then quickly away.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice laced with worry.

She shook her head and focused back on him. "It's nothing," she assured.

"Natsumi," he pleaded, brushing some of her pink locks out of her face. "Please tell me, I know it's something."

She sighed. "I feel like an accessory." She frowned.

"Don't ever think that, you aren't." he told her, giving her a tender look. "If anything, I am your accessory."

She laughed, but the light mood faded as fast as it had come. "People only talk about me in a possessive sense. Whether they want to have sex with me, or use me, or show me off. Like in sports or whatever."

Akito frowned slightly. "I'm sorry if what I said earlier gave you that impression. I was…how do you say it…defending your honor." He explained. "And, I don't like the way Sasori talks of you as if you are some toy, some object to be played with."

Natsumi shook her head. "I don't think I have any honor."

"That's not true." He said harshly. He cupped her face with his hands and tilted it up towards him. "You have more honor than any of us, Natsumi. You're strong-willed, and kind, and honest, though at the same time scary." He admitted. "But, I believe that you have honor, and to me, it is worth defending for the rest of my life."

She smiled happily and leaned into him, pressing her lips against his. "Akito…I lo...I really…really like you a lot. You are so special to me." She whispered, gripping onto him tightly.

He smiled genuinely at her, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her closer to his body. "You are my most important person Natsumi. Always." He said. He couldn't wait until the day he would be able to tell her he loved her, but that day was coming soon, and he was a patient man, so he would wait. Perhaps then she would feel comfortable enough to say it to him, instead of stumbling over her words. She pulled away then and took his hand in hers.

"Come on, let's go join the others." She said, pulling him with her to enjoy the rest of the day with their friends. Akito sighed, following her while praying that Sasori didn't try anything for the rest of the trip.


	20. New Year's Eve

**High School Endurance**

_Chapter Twenty _

-New Year's Eve-

Natsumi, Sakura, and Minako stood together around the massive fire place sipping at sparkling cider from beautiful hand blown glasses. "This is totally fantastic. It's like the best vacation I've ever had." Natsumi smiled brightly, nudging her cousin. Everyone was dressed up in formal wear and it was a blast. Natsumi was wearing and short black cocktail dress that hung over one shoulder.

"I know what you mean." Sakura smiled, readjusting the skirt of her white halter top dress. "I'm glad we were invited."

"You guys can come next year if you want." Minako said. "It's way more fun when Hinata and I aren't the only two girls around."

Natsumi shivered, "I can only imagine. You poor souls"

She laughed. "Yeah, but I like having my entire family together, even if it's just for a short while."

"That must be really nice." Natsumi smiled, looking around the room at all their friends.

"It is." She said softly. Akito walked over then, stopping in front of Natsumi.

"Hey, can I talk to you?" he asked.

She blinked and nodded, looking a bit worried. "Um, yeah sure." She placed her glass down on a nearby table and followed him. "What's up?"

He grabbed her hand and led her off to another room, where they would have some privacy. "Natsumi, you know how I said I would always be there for you? To protect you?" he asked.

She nodded, "Yeah I remember."

"And you know how I said we were soul mates?"

"Yes, I remember." She said, though there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was he going to take it all back now? Had they spent too much time together and he was finally tired of dealing with her and her problems?

He visibly swallowed. "Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, ever since you moved in with my family a while back." He told her. "And I realized something."

The sinking feeling turned into a painful stab. "Y-yeah?"

"We've been doing it all wrong. But I'm going to set it right." Before she could say anything, he took her hands in his and kneeled. He looked up into her beautiful jade eyes and smiled slightly.

"Natsumi, you're the only girl I can really stand to be around for long periods of time and never get tired of. I want to know what you're thinking all the time, and every day I look forward to seeing you smile. I catch myself thinking of you often, especially when we're apart, and I feel like no matter what, you will always be there for me."

"It was during my musings that I realized I want to be with you forever, because I love you." Akito reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. He opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring that wasn't too big, but not too small. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife some day when we're old enough?" he asked.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she couldn't breathe. "A-are you serious?" she barely managed out, trying not faint.

The corner of his mouth tilted up in a small smile. "I've never been more serious about anything in my entire life than I am about you."

Natsumi smiled, feeling her heart flutter. Her grip on his hand tightened and it was obvious she was trying not to let herself cry. "Akito, I want to be with you for the rest of my life."

He stood, taking the ring out of the box and sliding it onto her wedding finger. "Then let's be together." He said, looking up from her hand to her face. "I love you."

"I love you too." She wrapped her arms around him tightly, crying happily into his chest. "I've loved you for a long time." She whispered.

He brought his arms around her and held her to him, rubbing her back. "I've been in love with you since before the party. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I wanted this moment to be perfect." She nodded, rubbing her thumb against her ring finger, loving the feel of the cool metal. She pulled away then, but stayed against him.

"So…when do you want to? I mean…you have already suggested that we move in together after graduation." She smiled, unable to take her hands off of him.

"I was thinking maybe after college, or at least after our freshman year. I don't know how long I can wait." He smiled at her. "But at least that way we'll be used to living together and going to a different school, so we won't have to adjust too much when we're married."

She laughed, "Won't it pretty much be the same as it is now?" she asked, arching a delicate brow. "Of course aside from the fact we can sleep together."

"Then we'll get married whenever you want." He reached up and brushed some of her hair from her face. "I just want you to be happy."

"Only you can make me happy Akito." She beamed, getting up on her tip toes and kissing him fully on the lips. "I really love you." She said softly, so glad she could finally say the words aloud.

"I love you too." He whispered, pulling her closer and kissing her deeply. In this moment, he felt so happy. Finally, things in his life were beginning to go right.

She smiled against his lips and then stepped away, taking his hand in hers. "Come on! I want to go tell everyone!" she squealed, dragging him after her and she burst back into the room with him close behind. "I'm engaged!" she exclaimed, holding up her ringer finger that now glistened.

Sakura, Minako, Hinata, and Ino were all crowded around the couple in an instant. "Wow Natsumi! It's beautiful!" Sakura said, taking her cousin's hand and examining the ring.

"Congratulations Natsumi-chan!" Minako exclaimed, smiling brightly.

She nodded, practically glowing from the excitement. Sasori just rolled his eyes, downing his actual alcoholic beverage. "God…our younger relatives are irritating. Now Sakura and Natsumi are _really_ off limits."

Gaara came beside Akito, glancing down at the ring on Natsumi's finger. "Nice. A bit early though, don't you think?" he asked, not really protesting but they did still have one whole year of high school left.

Akito looked at him. "Well, for the most part it's a promise for the future, but, since it will increase the chances of your brother leaving her alone, then all the better." He smiled.

"True." He nodded.

"Hey!" Toshiro called. "I get to be the best man right?"

"Duh." Akito rolled his eyes, smiling over at his friend.

Sakura looked at her cousin. "Do I get to be the maid of honor?" she asked, already growing excited.

"Of course." Natsumi hugged her cousin. "Who else?"

Tenten hurried into the room and clapped her hands. "Come on everyone! The countdown is about to start and they're going to launch fireworks!"

Gaara smirked and walked behind Sakura, wrapping a possessive arm around her waist. "Come on love." He kissed her cheek then, leading her off as everyone followed. They all stood on one of the massive balconies to the resort and looked out into the dark sky.

Natsumi held Akito's hand tightly in her own, looking up at him as they heard the countdown to the New Year begin. "I love you Akito." She smiled.

"I love you too Natsumi," he said linking his fingers with hers.

"Five."

"Four."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

Everyone cried out for the New Year and as the fireworks began to go off, Akito leaned down and met his new fiancé's lips once more.

Gaara placed his hand on the back of Sakura's head and tilted it back, kissing her lovingly. Even Kiba and Ino were swapping saliva. Toshiro glanced at Minako and with warning, stepped closer to her and pressed his lips against hers in a sweet, chaste kiss.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at him in shock, placing her fingertips against her lips where he had kissed her. A shy smile made its way to her face, and she lowered her hand, reaching out and holding his. "Happy New Year Shiro-kun." She said softly.

"Happy New Year's Minako." He smiled down at her, holding her hand and then looking up at the massive firework show.

Suddenly everyone's heads turned when they heard a startled gasp. "Hinata-chan! Hinata-chan!" Naruto called, fanning the fainted girl's beet red face. She was currently being held upright by Naruto's other arm and shoulder, and the blonde had a frantic look on his face.

"Naruto, what did you do?" Sakura asked, raising a curious brow.

"I didn't do anything I swear! All I did was tell her she looked pretty and kiss her cheek, and she passed out!" he exclaimed.

"Idiot." Natsumi huffed, smacking her palm to her forehead. "Poor Hinata," she sighed.

"Poor Hinata?" Kiba snickered. "You kiddin'? Her dreams just came true."

"I guess everybody got what they wanted for New Year's." Akito said, looking down at his bride to be, keeping his arms wrapped around her.

She smiled and kissed him once again. "I guess so."


End file.
